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Mount Vernon 
Arlington andWoodlawn 



History of these national 

shrines from the earliest 

titles of ownership to the present, 

with biographical sketches, portraits, 

and interesting reminiscences of 

the families, who founded 

them. 



By Minnie Kendall-Lowther 



ILLUSTRATED 



Press 

Chas. H. Potter & Co., Inc. 

Washington, D. C. 

1922 



Copyright, 1922 

By 

Minnie Kendall -Lowther 



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IVTn gilbrb bom? auuHla from tljr low- 
£ri lg roof to ratrtj tit? morning or tfj? 
rowing bram, but ttjp loo? anb gratitubp 
of unitrb Amrrira arttlr upon it in our 
eternal aunatjine. Jffrnm beneattj tttat 
lutmble roof uirut furilj tlje intrrpib, 
unaelftafj uiarrtor; tlte magiatrate uitto 
kneut no glurg but fjia nwntrn/a gnob ; 
to tljat Ire returneb ttappteat tuljen tjia 
uiork uiaa bant. Stjere tie liueb in 
noble aimpliritg; anb tljere tje bieb in 
gluru, anb peare. Wtjtle it atanba, tlte 
lateat generationa of tin* grateful rliilbren 
of America utill make pilgrimagea to ttjia 
atirine; anb uttten it atjall fall — if fall 
it muat, tlte memory anb ttie nam? of 
Haaljtngton aball alteb an eternal gluru, 
on tlte aput. 

— Ebutarb Eurrrtt iijalp 




Memorial Continental Hall 



HeMratpfc in tljp lawjhtrrfi 

of 
tlj? Ammratt £?ttahttum 



VI 



CONTENTS 

Page 
Mount Vernon 1 

The Romance of Mount Vernon 15 

The Wedding Takes Place 19 

Birthplace Marked 23 

Incidents in the Life of Washington 25 

Kills His Mother's Favorite Horse 27 

Braddock's Defeat and Indian Prophesy 28 

Valley Forge 31 

His Love for Horses !__ 32 

The Washington Ancestral Line 39 

Mary, the Mother of Washington 41 

Lawrence Washington 43 

Other Washingtons Fall Heir 45 

The Mount Vernon Association 46 

Nellie Custis and Woodlawn 51 

Abingdon, the Birthplace of Nellie Custis 57 

Arlington National Cemetery 63 

The Unknown Hero 65 

History of Arlington Estate 69 

John Parke Custis 70 

Arlington Mansion Built 71 

The Lees at Arlington 75 

The Cemetery Laid Out 78 

The Custis Ancestry 82 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Abingdon 59 

Amphitheaters, both old and new 67 

Arlington Mansion 62 

Barn, gardens, an$ Old Tomb 9 

"Field of Dead" 60 

Fort Myer Gateway to Arlington 61 

Front and rear Views of Arlington Mansion as it looks 
to-day with portraits of George Washington Parke 

Custis and the Lees 71 

Fredericksburg, home of Mary Ball Washington and 

Wakefield, the birthplace of George Washington 38 

Grave of Nellie Custis 59 

Graves of the Custises at Arlington 75 

Grouped Scenes 77 

Interior of Rooms 6 

Martha Custis Washington 13 

Martha Washington Gardens 12 

Mary Ball Washington as the "Rose of Epping Forest". 37 

Memorial Continental Hall vi 

Mount Vernon as it looks to-day with portraits of Gen- 
eral and Mrs. Washington Facing p. 1 

Mount Vernon from the Air Frontispiece 

Nellie Custis at Eighteen 49 

New Tomb 24 

Old Lodge Gateway . 26 

Original Mansion with portrait of Lawrence Washington x 

Ruins of the First Monument to Washington 36 

Section of Blue and Gray 79 

Section of Overseas Dead where some West Virginia 

Boys Sleep 81 

Small View of Mount Vernon from the Air xi 

Tomb of General Meigs 83 

Tomb of Unknown 68 

Washington and Lafayette at Mount Vernon 26 

Washington-Custis Nuptial Scene 19 

Washington Family, including "Billy" Lee 14 

Washington on his knees at Valley Forge 25 

Woodlawn 50 



A Foreword 

The mission of this little volume is to give as concise, 
correct, and connected account, as possible, of these na- 
tional shrines, which are so indissolubly linked by history 
and romance, from the primitive days to the present; and 
we trust that it may prove both interesting and valuable 
to the many, who are seeking this history in brief form. 

Our sources of information extend all the way from 
Parson Weems to Paul Wilstach, of the present time, in- 
cluding Mrs. Mary Lockwood's "Historic Homes of Wash- 
ington," W. H. Snowden's "Old Historic Landmarks," news- 
paper accounts of the long ago, John Ball Osbourne's story 
of Arlington, etc. Then in order to bring much of it down 
to the present time, we have visited these spots and devised 
our own plans for securing the coveted up-to-date facts. 

Confronted by conflicting statements on every hand, 
we have aimed to accept the most authentic in each instance ; 
and by the aid of Washington's diary, have been able to 
set aside some of our own former wrong impressions, as 
well as those of others. For instance the much that has 
been written concerning the horse that General Braddock 
bequeathed to the Colonel in dying — according to his nota- 
tion in his diary, he never saw the horse. Then the univer- 
sal impression that John Washington, the emigrant mar- 
ried Anne Pope, he states she was Mrs. Anne Pope Brod- 
hurst; and has verified other disputed points until we be- 
lieve this little volume is as nearly correct as it is possible 
to make it under these circumstances. 

MINNIE KENDALL-LOWTHER. 

Washington, D. C, August 21, 1922. 



' - - 




The Original Mount Vernon and Portrait of Lawrence 
Washington, the Builder 



Ollj? mrnrrstnnr of a rnuntru/a 

iEibrrty, 

tty aljrto of a Nation's fotiiittim. 




By Courtesy of Government Air Service 



About tfjij Jjallouirfc namr, 
vw ntttoinp tbia HttU garlanfo 
in ijonnr of ijim, foljn waa 
"iFtrat in toar, firat in ptntt, 
nnb first in tljp fjrarta nf Ijia 
romtirumrn/' 



XI 



Mount Vernon 

THE name of Washington can never be divorced from 
that of Mount Vernon, yet how few of us realize its 
long connection, but as the visitor of to-day turns from 
this most significant of all National shrines, his interest is 
naturally awakened anew to learn more of its history; so 
let us turn the leaves of Time's volume backward for a 
glimpse of its rise from the unbroken wilderness to its 
wondrous beauty of to-day, and note something of the con- 
tinuous association of this illustrious family and its titles 

to ownership. 
v 
The Doeg Indians, a tribe of the Algonquins, were the 

first denizens of this forest; and Captain John Smith and 
his little company of adventurers are supposed to have been 
the first pale faces to look upon this scene. But they pass 
out with the tide, and the natives in their wide-eyed wonder 
as to these strange vessels and visages, are left to possess 
their happy hunting-grounds undisturbed, for another 
quarter of a century. 

In 1634, the Dove and a pinnace belonging to Leonard 
Calvert, the first governor of Maryland, with his two hun- 
dred colonists under the royal charter of King Charles II 
to his brother, Cecilius Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, 
anchored a mile above the present site of the mansion where 
the Piscataway joins the Potomac on the heights later 
crowned by Fort Washington. But the manner of the 
Indians was not one of hospitality, and Calvert sailed on 
down the river to a more secure haven and left St. Mary's 
on the map. Then another silence of forty years, so far 
as records go, fell over the upper Potomac, though there 
were transient nearby activities of the hunter and trapper 
sort among white men in the meantime, — an occasional out- 
post that played the role of guard on the frontier from the 
receding Indian. But farther down the river civilization 



2 Mount Vernon 

was on the wing. Forests were being converted into cabins 
and fences; clay, into brick for plantation mansions; and 
the dusky-face was gradually being dispossessed ; but there 
was no clear title to this estate until the early seventies. 

Charles II had, from his place of exile without throne 
or crown, granted all the lands between the Rappahannock 
and the Potomac to two of his "tricky favorites," the Earl 
of Arlington, and Lord Culpeper, for thirty-one years at 
an annual rental of forty shillings ; and this grant was later 
withdrawn and extended on a larger scale so as to include 
the whole of Virginia. This seeming injustice brought on 
such a storm of protest as to be in a measure responsible 
for Bacon's rebellion; but, despite the protest, the Earl of 
Arlington conveyed his part of the grant to Lord Culpeper, 
who, in 1674, transferred five thousand acres in this wilder- 
ness to John Washington and Nicholas Spencer; and thus 
the title to Mount Vernon began, as did the connection of 
this distinguished family. 

John Washington, the emigrant was the grandfather 
of the hero of the American Revolution, and, while he 
owned this tract, he never lived upon it ; but he bequeathed 
his half of the above mentioned grant to his son, Lawrence 
Washington, by his will in 1677. This grant was divided 
in 1690, and it was then that Lawrence Washington's part 
of two thousand five hundred acres was designated as Hunt- 
ing Creek estate. Lawrence left it to his daughter, Mil- 
dred, who became Mrs. Roger Gregory, and they transfer- 
red it by deed to her brother, Augustine Washington, on 
May 26, 1726; and he not only deeded it to his son, Law- 
rence, in 1746, but confirmed it by his will three years later. 

The fact that Augustine Washington's father, in his 
bequest, describes this Hunting Creek estate as the land 
where Mrs. Eliza Minton and Mrs. Williams live, suggests 
that these two women were the earliest dwellers in this 
wilderness ; but as to where their cabin stood is a question. 

Augustine Washington and his wife resided here for a 
few years, but the exact location of their residnce is now 
mere conjecture. Some historians suggest near the mill, 



Mount Vernon 3 

"where the rippling branch meets the tidal Dogue creek;" 
others, the present site of the green house; but be this as 
it may, it was destroyed by fire in 1739 and there is no 
record of its having been rebuilt, as they then changed 
their place of residence to near Fredericksburg; and the 
building of this historic old mansion awaited the new master 
of the estate, Lawrence Washington. 

History is indefinite as to what improvements were 
here when Lawrence Washington came into possession ; but 
it is sure that the old mill and the old brick barn', which 
bears the date 1733, were here ; and the cabins and out- 
buildings for the slaves are given the benefit of the doubt. 
But Lawrence built the mansion in 1743, and changed its 
name from that of Haunting Creek to Mount Vernon in 
honor of Admiral Vernon under whom he served against 
Spain. He died in 1752 leaving the estate to his younger 
half-brother, George Washington, whose taste and handi- 
work are everywhere in evidence to-day. 

The Mount Vernon of To-day 

IT was a perfect day in May when all Nature was just 
donning the bridal-robes of the early summertime that 
we first stood within the gates of this ideal spot, which 
has been the mecca of multiplied thousands of all races and 
all climes for more than a century. 

Mount Vernon! the pride of a country's heart, the 
shrine of a nation's devotion. How wondrously beautiful in 
its settings of trees, shrubs, vines, hedges, and flowers, 
overlooking the blue waters of the Potomac and the green 
Virginia hills! 

After his return to civil life, General Washington 
spared no pains in beautifying and improving the mansion 
and the grounds. Many of the trees that command the ad- 
miration of the tourist of today were planted by his own 
hand, as he spent much time in their selection and culti- 
vation. Near the butler's house is a magnolia that he 
transplanted from the James river, the last year of his 
life. The elm on a mound near the entrance to the grounds 
came from a slip from the Washington elm at Cambridge, 
Massachusetts, which was sent by Miss Alice Longfellow. 



4 Mount Vernon 

Trees from every quarter of the globe annually add their 
quota and interest to this marvelous collection. Shaded 
lawns adorn the front. Old elms, with wondrous stories, 
gracefully bend their branches to the breeze on each side of 
the walk and unite their soft murmur with that of the 
neighboring hemlocks. Below is a deer park of twenty 
acres, and in the rear are lawns, gardens, and orchards ; 
and here and there about the grounds is a veritable villa 
incident to a Virginia farm of that day. On the west is a 
sundial, contributed by Rhode Island in 1888 to replace the 
one of Washington's time, which marked this same spot, 
and which is inscribed, "I record none but sunny hours." 

The flower garden, so picturesquely quaint with its 
rare boxwood hedges, a century and a half old, its fragrant 
old-time pinks, sweet williams, roses, peonies, etc., all 
abloom as they were on our recent Maytime visit, brings be- 
fore one's fancied vision the sweet face of the queenly 
woman bending over them, as she must have done in the 
olden days, when they were first implanted here. On 
each side of the main walk, the central space is occupied 
by a circular bed, surrounded by four oval and four tri- 
angular ones, which form a square as a whole. The Ken- 
tucky coffee-tree was placed here by the hand of Lafayette 
on his last visit in 1824 ; the four strawberry shrubs, which 
were named in honor of Presidents Adams, Jefferson, Madi- 
son, and Monroe, were sent to Washington from Monticello 
by Jefferson. At the foot of the garden stands the Mary 
Washington rose, which Washington named in honor of 
his mother. Here, too, is a willow from the grave of Na- 
poleon on St. Helena Island. In the greenhouse that oc- 
cupies the rear, is a sago palm that is descended from one 
that was tended by Mrs. Washington, and many other rare 
plants and flowers bid one linger among their fragrance. 

The old mansion, which has withstood the storms of 
more than a century and three-quarters, is made of wood 
cut and painted so as to resemble stone. It measures ninety 
by thirty feet and has two stories and an attic with dormer 
windows; and a cupola, with an antique weathervane, sur- 
mounts the roof. A piazza, with square pillars and a floor 
tiled with flags from the Isle of Wight, extends along the 




Banquet Hall 
Music Room 
Main Hall 
Family Dining-room 



Room Where Washington Died 
Nellie Custis' Room 
Mrs. Washington's Bedroom 
Mrs. Washington's Kitchen 



6 Mount Vernon 

front ; and two kitchens are connected with the central 
building by colonnades. The main hall extends from front 
to back, and on the first floor is the dining-room, library, 
west parlor, banquet hall, music room, and Mrs. Washing- 
ton's sitting-room. Lafayette's room, Nellie Custis', and 
the one in which General Washington spent his last hours, 
are on the second ; and the one made sacred by the last 
moments of Mrs. Washington is in the attic, where several 
spare rooms are found. 

It would be impossible to enumerate the treasures that 
are preserved in this wonderful collection ; and everything 
is so perfectly systematic and in accord with the spirit of 
that age that should a visitor become unmindful of his 
hat, he is immediately asked to remove it, so pregnant is 
the atmosphere with the sacredness of all about it. But 
a few must not be omitted: One that stands out in bas 
relief in the hall is the wrought iron key of the Old Bastile, 
which was sent to General Washington by Lafayette, after 
the capture of this noted prison during the French revo- 
lution in 1789, along with a model of the Bastile, because 
"it was the principles of Washington and America that 
opened this hated dungeon." In the banquet room in a 
glass case stands the miniature model of this old prison, 
made from the very stone, after it had been stormed by 
the advocates of liberty on July 14, 1789. A facsimile of 
the agreement of Lafayette to serve in the American army 
with the rank of major-general ; three of Washington's 
swords, with a clause of his will disposing of them to his 
nephews ; General Braddock's sash and sword, which he 
presented in dying ; the hunting horn of Lafayette ; a wax 
candle that survived the siege of Yorktown; some sand- 
stone from Valley Forge ; and the cornerstone of Mount 
Vernon villa used by Lawrence Washington, are all of his- 
toric bearing. The harpischord imported from London as 
a bridal-present from General Washington for Nellie Custis 
at the cost of one thousand dollars, his fife and guitar, and 
the card table upon which he and Lafayette played whist, 
adorn the music room ; and in the banquet hall where Nellie 
Custis plighted her troth on that eventful evening, is her 
wedding gown. The painting of Vernon's fleet, the white 



x 



Mount Vernon 7 

enamel chair with pink brocaded satin, which came from 
the birthplace of Lafayette, are to be seen in the west 
parlor. The portrait of Lafayette, the "Bride of Mount 
Vernon," and other noted paintings set apart the room of 
Lafayette, and an old clock of that day ticks off the hours 
on the landing of the stairs. The rooms of Mrs. Wash- 
ington and Nellie Custis are supposed to be as they were 
in their day, and all the rest have their own peculiar inter- 
est and beauty ; but all together are over-towered by the 
one from which the great spirit fled on that bleak De- 
cember night. It is as near intact as it is possible for it to 
be. The furniture is that used by him, and the bed is 
the one upon which he died. A large chair that his mother 
occupied in soothing him in infancy is also here, but the 
Bible from which Mrs. Washington was reading when the 
final moment came is now open to the visitors in another 
room. 

The culinary art is no longer practiced in the kitchen, 
but this huge fireplace, with its old-fashioned crane and 
brick oven, the quaint china and churn, and numerous other 
things claim the attention and admiration. Then just out- 
side is the old well with its iron pump surrounded by mod- 
ern drinking fountains. The coach house is not far dis- 
tant, and the special feature of interest here is the ancient 
family carriage, which is known as the "lost coach," and 
which was recovered by the Association in 1895. The loom 
house, too, with its spinning wheels and weaving outfit is 
a real curiosity to the present generation who comes this 
way, and a thousand other things bid one tarry. But 
despite the interest of all else, the Tomb holds the balance of 
power. Here the great of every nation and clime have 
bowed their heads in reverence, and this is truly hallowed 
ground. 

This tomb was built in 1830-31 in accord with the 
specifications of General Washington's will, and is a plain 
brick structure, with an arched gateway in front and a 
marble slab above, which is inscribed, "Within this en- 
closure rests the remains of General Washington ;" and 
just above the door are the words of Scripture, "I am the 
resurrection and the life," etc. Through the open panels 



8 Mount Vernon 

of the ante-chamber door, two marble sarcophaga are visible. 
The one to the right bears the immortal name of Wash- 
ington, and is simply adorned with the chiseled coat-of- 
arms of the United States and a draped flag. The other 
is inscribed "Martha, Consort of Washington," with the 
usual dates. Immortelles from potentates and lovers of 
liberty from every corner of the earth are in evidence here. 
Among them is one from Marshal Joffre, bearing the date 
of his first visit in 1917 ; the Prince of Wales, King Albert 
of Belgium, etc. Pilgrimages of the great and small from 
almost every clime under the sun, are daily recorded, and 
the perishable wreathes upon the tomb are thus continually 
refreshed. 

Among the more recent ones of unusual moment was 
the annual pilgrimage of the National Continental Congress 
of the Daughters of the American Revolution, who were 
here two thousand strong on Thursday afternoon, April 30, 
1922, and laid their tributes down with the following beau- 
tiful words from Mrs. George Maynard Minor, the presi- 
dent-general : 

"Reverently we bring this tribute of a grateful people 
to this most sacred shrine of the nation. To Washington 
we bring this tribute of a memory that can never die. We, 
the descendants of the men of his devoted army, bring 
tribute to one whose sole descendant was his country. What 
more can we say of him than his country has already said? 
The years have each added their eulogies, — their praise to 
one, who was beyond and above all praise." 

Few more impressive scenes have been enacted at this 
shrine, since the memorable visit of Lafayette: for the 
Daughters were joined here by France's own Marshal Joffre, 
who was just concluding his second visit to America, and 
Ambassador and Mme. J. J. Jusserand; and Great Britain 
was represented by Major-General Bethell, attache of the 
British embassy. Marshal Joffre planted a tree from La 
Grange, the home of Lafayette; and the Britisher, one 
from Sulgrave Manor, the ancestral home of the Wash- 
ington in England. Both were accepted by Mrs. Minor, 
who in turn presented them to the Mount Vernon Ladies' 
Association. 




Barn, Gardens, and Old Tomb 



10 Mount Vernon 

Mrs. Minor, in accepting the tree from France, said 
it deeply touched her, and continued, "America will for- 
ever honor the memory of Lafayette. His was a gallant 
soul with far-reaching vision. His was a nature that re- 
sponded fervently to the call of human liberty. His must 
have been a character of high nobility to have won the 
friendship of such a man as Washington. It is most fitting 
that this tree should be planted and take root in the soil 
of Washington's loved home where many times, he must 
have welcomed his trusted friend and officer, Lafayette. It 
will ever typify the deepening roots of friendship between 
this country and France." 

The Old Tomb, though deserted, still holds a fascina- 
tion for the visitor ; and it seems opportune to here enshrine 
the memorable visit of Lafayette with its impressive inci- 
dents, in 1824, which has been so graphically described 
by George Washington Parke Custis, who accompanied him. 

It was on October 17 that this pilgrimage was made — 
that the noble Frenchman bowed at this shrine for the first 
and last time. When the vault was reached, Mr. Custis pre- 
sented him with a ring, which contained a lock of the Gen- 
eral's hair. This ring was of solid gold and perfectly plain 
in design, and was beautifully engraved on the inner sur- 
face, with the following inscription: 

Lafayette 

1777 

Pre nevi erbis liberate 

decerbatat Juvenis 

stabilitan Senex 

Invenit 

1824 

On the face surrounding the hair were the words "Pater 
Patriae," and on another side "Mount Vernon." In making 
the presentation, he spoke in part thus: "Last of the 
Generals of the Army of Independence, at this awful and 
impressive moment when forgetting the splendor of a 
triumph greater than the Roman Consul ever had, you bend 
with reverence over the remains of Washington, the Child 



Mount Vernon 11 

of Mount Vernon presents you with this token containing 
the hair of him, while living you loved, and to whose hon- 
ored grave you now pay this manly and affectionate tribute 
of a patriot and soldier's tear." 

Lafayette was overcome with emotion for a moment, 
pressed the ring to his bosom, and said: "The feelings, 
which at this awful moment oppress my heart do not leave 
the power of utterance ; I can only thank you ! my dear 
Custis, for your priceless gift, and pay silent homage to 
the tomb of the greatest and best of men — my paternal 
friend." At this he affectionately embraced the donor and 
other gentlemen present, and with tears streaming down 
his furrowed face, pressed his lips to the door of the vault, 
descended the steps and kissed the leaden cells, which held 
the sacred dust of his great Chieftain, and his beloved 
wife; and turning away completely overcome, he took his 
departure from these shores forever. The vessel which 
carried him proceeded to Yorktown, while martial music did 
honor to the occasion. Mr. Custis says, "Nothing occurred 
to disturb the reverential solemnity of this leave-taking at 
the tomb. Not a soul intruded. The old oaks which grew 
round the sepulchre, touched with the mellow luster of au- 
tumn appeared as rich and ripe as the autumnal honors of 
Lafayette. Not a murmur was heard save the strains of 
solemn music and the deep measured sound of artillery, 
which woke the echoes around the hallowed heights of 
Mount Vernon. 

" 'Tis done ! the greatest, the most affecting scene of 
the grand drama has closed, and the pilgrim who now re- 
pairs to the tomb of the 'Father of his Country,' will find 
its laurels moistened by the tears of Lafayette." 

His son, G. W. Lafayette, and Lawrence Lewis were 
members of this party, and Mr. Custis divided the Cin- 
cinnatus ribbon that had borne the ring among the gentle- 
men present. Lafayette's great-grandson stood here with 
Marshal Joffre on his first visit. 



Jlttipreattttg SUmtattr? 

nnb 

Into of ilmmt Hmtim 




Martha Custis Washington 

"iltt Itfr'a toltgljt, ttt dratlj'a framay, 
Jtt atorm anb attttatjtttr mgljt anb buy; 
3tt Ijraltlj, tit atrtoaa, ttt bttm, 
Here att& tjer?aft?r, 3 am Hjtttr/' 

— fCottgfrllmu 



The Romance of Mount Vernon 

IT is difficult to realize the true associations of General 
Washington with this place; but when we remember 
that these beautiful old hills reverberated almost the 
first sounds that fell from his childish lips; that here were 
the favorite haunts of his boyhood and his early youthful 
dreams ; that here he fished, hunted, swam, studied sur- 
veying, wrote his "Rules of Conduct," and experienced his 
first encounter with Cupid, we can better understand the 
tie that bound him to this sacred spot, with the added joys 
and sorrows of his maturer years, which are more familiar 
to the most of us. 

It was in 1752 upon the death of his elder half-brother, 
Lawrence Washington, with whom he had spent much time 
here, that he fell heir to the estate. Then came his dream 
of finding a suitable mistress for such a heritage, and his 
full realization that the "course of true love does not al- 
ways run smooth." 

One would hardly suspect that a truly sentimental na- 
ture lay concealed beneath a grave and dignified exterior 
that had awed even potentates into silence in its presence ; 
but his early diaries are filled with confidences not for- 
eign to the modern "Sentimental Tommy" which bear 
strong testimony to his ardent admiration for the fair sex ; 
and to the disappointments and heartaches attendant upon 
his unsuccessful youthful conquests, as he did not seem to 
be a favorite with the belles of his association ; and it is 
recorded that he possessed an innate timidity that followed 
him down to old age, and added to his seeming gravity. 

He seems to have first fallen for the charms of Miss 
Sallie Fairfax, who, despite the persistency of his wooing, 
married another in the person of Major John Carlyle, of 
Alexandria. One of his biographers says that he greatly 
admired Miss Mary Carey, the sister of Mrs. George Fair- 
fax, but her father, not being able to foretell the future, 

15 



16 The Romance of Mount Vernon 

separated them by his objections ; and that young Wash- 
ington never saw her again until he bowed to her pale and 
fainting visage at a window at the old capitol at Williams- 
burg when he passed through in triumph as the conqueror 
of Lord Cornwallis. But his diaries and letters to the con- 
trary prove this to be fiction. In a letter to a friend in 1748, 
while he was out on a surveying tour, he speaks of this 
Miss Carey and states that he might spend the time pleas- 
antly with her were his heart disengaged, and says, "But 
as that is only adding fuel to fire, it makes me the more 
uneasy ; for by often and unavoidably being in her com- 
pany, revives my former passion for your Lowland Beauty, 
whereas, were I to live more in retirement from young 
women, I might in some measure eliminate my sorrow by 
burying that chaste and troublesome passion in the grave 
of eternal forgetfulness." He further speaks of his hope- 
lessness in winning out. Sallie Fairfax was the "Lowland 
Beauty" and her image was so indelibly written upon his 
heart that he carried it down to old age in a sacred friend- 
ship. He was scarcely sixteen when he encountered this 
experience. Then a strong attachment for the fair Betsey 
Fauntleroy sprang up ; and in one of his letters to her father, 
he frankly expresses the hope that this young lady will 
revoke her "cruel sentence," and notes that he encloses a 
letter to her. But the haughty Betsey's decision seemed 
irrevocable, and she married a common planter and lived 
to regret it. However, this was an opportune time for the 
Young Lochinvar to accept a commission from Governor 
Dinwiddie and bear his protest to the encroaching French 
on the western frontier of the Ohio ; and for the next two 
years Mount Vernon had but little charm for him, and 
he passed it by as he went to Fredericksburg to visit his 
mother. Then his attachment for Miss Mary Philipse is a 
matter of both history and tradition, but Captain Morris, his 
associate aide-de-camp in the Monongahela engagement, 
won her hand and heart. 

However, despite these disappointing attachments, 
there came a time when the Fates looked down and smiled ; 
and he proved himself to be so ardent a wooer that the field 
was not open to rivals for long, and his affections were 
not given in vain. 



The Romance of Mount Vernon 17 

One bright morning in 1758, a young officer in mili- 
tary undress, accompanied by a body-servant of military 
bearing, in crossing the William's Ferry of Pamunkey 
creek, a branch of York river, encountered one Mr. Cham- 
berlayne, on whose domain he had just landed, who be- 
sieged him to stop and partake of the hospitalities of his 
home, as he was too well-known to pass by without at- 
tentions. This young officer pleaded pressing duties and 
want of time until Mr. Chamberlayne intimated that a 
charming young widow chanced to be under his roof at that 
moment. At this the young soldier yielded, though agreeing 
only to dine, as he could then by pressing his charger and 
borrowing from the night, reach Williamsburg before his 
excellency, the Governor, with whom he had important busi- 
ness, would be aroused from his slumbers. 

Thomas Bishop, the faithful body-servant that General 
Braddock had bequeathed to this young officer in dying, was 
with him on this occasion ; so turning the charger over to 
Bishop, who tacitly lifted his cap as a pledge of implicit 
obedience to orders, the young soldier proceeded to the man- 
sion, where he came face to face with the "charming widow" 
who was destined to rule over his heart from that moment 
until his eyes were closed in death; and, unlike the earlier 
romances, it was mutual impressions — Cupid had at last 
played him fair. Colonel Washington had met his fate. 

Martha Dandridge Custis was young, beautiful, and 
fascinating with plenty of this world's goods; and he was 
fresh from his early fields of military fame, — all that a 
woman could ask of honor and manliness, and it was small 
wonder that decisions were quickly made; that the man, 
who was noted for his perfect promptness, should, in his 
fascination, forget the prancing charger and the faithful 
servant, his engagement with the Governor; and linger on 
and on all unconscious of passing time. Day declined, the 
sun dropped behind the Western horizon, and still the 
faithful Bishop waited and marveled at his Chief's delay. 
" 'Tis passing strange, this man noted for his promptness, 
never wont to be a moment behind his appointments, what 
could it mean?" he soliloquized. In the meantime, the 
solicitous host observing the waiting veteran at the gate 
with no small degree of amusement, as to the effect of his 



18 The Romance of Mount Vernon 

invitation, prevailed upon his guest to remain over night, — 
saying that no visitor ever left his home after sunset. To 
this, the Colonel assented, and the weary servant was or- 
dered to put the horses up for the night to his great relief; 
and the sun was high in the heavens, the following morning, 
before the enamored soldier rode away to dispatch his "ur- 
gent" business at the executive mansion. This done, he im- 
mediately retraced his steps to the "White House," as Mrs. 
Custis' home was known, where the engagement took place, 
with immediate preparations for the marriage, which fol- 
lowed in January. 

Martha Dandridge was descended from an ancient and 
honored Welsh family, who crossed to the Virginia colony, 
at an early day. She was born in Kent county in May, 1732, 
the same year that gave Washington birth, and grew up 
with few educational advantages beyond those of a domes- 
tic character. But nature had endowed her with unusual 
personal charm and grace, and she was a reigning belle at 
the Williamsburg Royal court. Few women have been des- 
tined to figure in a greater human drama than the one that 
awaited her maturer years. 

At the age of seventeen, she gave her heart and hand 
in marriage to Colonel Daniel Parke Custis, who was twenty 
years her senior; it being a true, mutual love affair. The 
father of the bridegroom, the Honorable John Custis, of 
Arlington, had ambitions for a union between his only son 
and Evelyn Byrd, his cousin, but finally realizing that the 
beautiful Miss Dandridge had effaced all other images from 
the heart of his son, he reluctantly gave his consent, and the 
marriage took place at her parental home in 1749. Here 
on the banks of the Pamunky at the "White House" they 
founded their home and Colonel Custis became a successful 
planter. They were the parents of four children. One 
daughter died in infancy ; Daniel, a promising boy, in 
childhood ; and Martha and John Parke Custis reached 
young woman and manhood. 

Mr. Custis did not long survive the blow of Daniel's 
death, and Mrs. Custis found herself one of the wealthiest 
young widows in the colony. Besides extensive and valuable 
landed estates, she had thirty thousand pounds sterling. 



The Romance of Mount Vernon 



19 



Thus we find Mrs. Custis again a belle with many 
suitors, when the future "Father of his Country" enters 
upon the scene. 

The Wedding Takes Place 

The Washington-Custis wedding took place on January 
6, 1759, and while it has ever been a question with his- 
torians as to where, circumstances point more strongly to 
the church. However, the ceremony was solemnized by the 
Reverend Mr. Mossor, who had spoken the fateful words for 
the bride at her former marriage, and the nuptials were at- 
tended with gaiety and revelry. The good, the great, the 
gifted and the fair made up the throng of that most mo- 
mentuous occasion. It is said that no Colonial bridegroom 
ever graced a wedding with more stately dignity than did 
Colonel Washington, who stood six feet two inches, with a 
somewhat tapering figure, and an avoirdupois of one hun- 
dred seventy-five pounds. He wore a suit of blue and silver 
with scarlet trimmings, and a waistcoat of white satin, 
embroidered, and buckles of gold adorned his garters and 




Washington-Custis Nuptial Scene 



20 The Romance of Mount Vernon 

his shoes. His hair was powdered, as was the custom of 
the day, and at his side hung a straight dress sword. 

The bride, who did not reach above his shoulders, pre- 
sented a charming appearance in a handsome gown of heavy 
white silk shot with silver, imported from England, with 
ornaments of pearl in her hair and ears, and white satin 
slippers with diamonds in the buckles. She was attended by 
three beautiful bridesmaids; and among the witnesses to 
the ceremony was Lieutenant-Governor Fauquier, of Vir- 
ginia, brilliant in uniform of scarlet and gold, a bag-wig and 
dress sword. He was surrounded by a group of English 
officers, who were scarcely less brilliant in their trappings, 
and by members of the legislature and noted civilians. 

The bride entered a coach, which was gay with the red 
and white colors of Mr. Washington, and which was drawn 
by six horses under the direction of black postilions in liv- 
ery. The bridegroom, mounted upon his richly caparisoned 
charger, closely followed by a cortege of gentlemen on 
horseback, rode by the side of the coach. 

After the nuptials, they spent the remainder of the 
winter at one or the other of Mrs. Washington's homes, 
and in the springtime settled down at Mount Vernon where 
Fate decreed they should remain. Though so often called to 
patriotic service, he ever returned to this home with increas- 
ing love for the place. It was then small in comparison 
with today, but this humble roof covered happy hearts. 

Mrs. Washington proved herself to be a most practical 
and thorough-going housewife, as she was endowed with the 
same methodical routine that characterized her husband. 
Both knew how to work about the house and the planta- 
tion, and still uphold their social prestige ; and their hearth- 
stone was nearly always thronged with guests. It was his 
custom, after a breakfast of Indian cakes, honey, tea or 
coffee, to ride over the plantation, while Mrs. Washington 
retired to her room to read her Bible, meditate, and pray 
before her daily rounds to her garden. She dressed quite 
plain about her home, but she knew well how to wear gay 
costumes on state occasions, and with her husband fre- 
quently attended balls and parties at Alexandria, Williams- 
burg, and Annapolis, for she was fond of the dance. Long 



The Romance of Mount Vernon 21 

after the nuptials, he wrote, "I have always considered 
marriage the most interesting event of one's life, — the 
foundation of one's happiness or misery." And his "Dear 
Patsey" seemed to fulfill his fondest dream of connubial 
bliss. 

Mrs. Washington's two children, Martha and John 
Parke, went to live with them, and in Mr. Washington found 
a true father. Martha, who was known as the "dark lady" 
in her brunette beauty, was never strong and the first great 
shadow fell over Mount Vernon when consumption carried 
her away at the age of seventeen. She was so attached 
to her new father that she left her entire fortune in money 
to him. The story of "Jack" as he was best known, who 
died shortly after the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, is in- 
cluded in a later chapter. But it was his two children, 
Nellie and George Washington Parke Custis, who became 
later children of Mount Vernon, as General Washington 
adopted them at the deathbed of their father. Nellie was 
the joy and pride of his heart, and, of all men, he was her 
hero. And George Washington Parke Custis has beauti- 
fully enshrined his memory in a well-written and priceless 
volume. Both remained here until the home was broken 
up and then carried with them to life's last hour its pre- 
cious memories. 

General Washington died on the night of December 
14, 1799, after a few days' illness from a cold contracted 
while about the plantation in the rain. He seemed to have 
a presentiment that this was the end ; had remained up so 
late the night before that Mrs. Washington, growing un- 
easy, chided him when he did at last come to his room. He 
replied, "I came just as soon as business was accomplished." 
The next night proved to be his last. As the watchers drew 
nearer his couch in their anxiety for the slightest ray of 
hope, he said but little, though admitted to an old servant 
that he was very ill. But to Dr. Craik, his earliest com- 
panion-in-arms and bosom friend, he said, "I am dying, sir, 
but am not afraid to die." He requested Mrs. Washington 
to go to his desk and bring him two papers. She obeyed, 
and he said, "These are my wills, — preserve this one and 
burn the other." He then requested that his body be kept 



22 The Romance of Mount Vernon 

the usual three days, inquired the time, which wanted but 
a few minutes of ten o'clock, and spoke no more. So quietly 
did he steal away that those about him scarcely knew when 
the struggle was ended. Dr. Craik closed his eyes, and Mrs. 
Washington, who had been sitting at the foot of the bed, 
calmly asked, "Is he gone?" and when assured in the affirm- 
ative, she added in the same quiet tone, " 'Tis well! all is 
over, I shall soon follow him ; I have no more trials to pass 
through," for death had already robbed her of all her im- 
mediate family. 

He died on Saturday night and the casket was procured 
at Alexandria on the following day. It was of mahogany 
lined with lead. At the head was an ornament inscribed, 
"Surge Ad Judicium;" near the middle was "Gloria Deo," 
and on a small silver plate in the form of the American 
shield were the words : 

"George Washington 
Born February 22, 1732, 
Died December 14, 1799." 

The funeral took place at noon on Wednesday the 
eighteenth, and was a never-to-be-forgotten occasion. His 
horse, with his saddle, holsters, and pistols, led by two 
grooms, was in the large procession, which followed the 
casket to the Old Tomb which had been built at his com- 
mand some years before. The rites of the church, the Ma- 
sonic service, and the military, with its firing of musketry 
and artillery, paid their united tribute to the entombed com- 
mander. The Reverend Mr. Davis of the Protestant Epis- 
copal church read the ritualistic service. 

After his death, in accord with the custom to close the 
death chamber for three years, Mrs. Washington occupied 
the attic room where she could look out upon his grave from 
the dormer window, and here she spent her last hours on 
May 22, 1802. 

She rested by his side in the Old Tomb until 1831 when 
both were removed to the new, after ghouls had attempted 
to steal his skull. 

During the winter of 1832, Congress made a second 
effort to have the General's remains removed to the crypt 



The Romance of Mount Vernon 23 

at the Capitol, which had been originally designed for its 
sepulchre. Mrs. Washington had granted that his remains 
might be interred in a National tomb on the condition that 
her's rest beside him. Plans for two crypts were talked of at 
the Capitol, where a "keeper of the Crypt" was on duty 
at an annual salary of $2,500, until President Lincoln abol- 
ished the office. The plan failed, and the heroic women 
saved Mount Vernon for all time, we trust. 

Birthplace Marked 

In June, 1815, George Washington Parke Custis, who 
has planted so many sweet Forget-Me-Nots to the memory 
of his Pater in the garden of history, placed a marker at 
his birthplace. 

He, accompanied by Lawrence Lewis and Mr. Grimes, 
sailed on his own vessel, "The Lady of the Lake," a fine 
topsail schooner of ninety tons, for Pope Creek in the county 
of Westmoreland, carrying with him the slab of freestone, 
which was inscribed as follows : 

"Here, the 11th of February (old style), 1732, George Washington 
was born." 

The site was marked by a few scattered bricks from 
an ancient chimney, which had once formed the hearthstone 
about which his infant feet played. From these they con- 
structed a rude sort of pedestal, and with the stone en- 
veloped in the "Star-Spangled Banner," placed it upon it. 
Then fired a salute with a piece of cannon as they sailed 
away from the reverberating echoes that they had awak- 
ened. 




Tomb at Mount Vernon 



Nntrii Jfrtofottts in tlir iCtfr 

of 
*uJhr iFathrr of His (Emuttrg/' 




Washington on His Knees at Valley Forge 

"ily uraur fellows, let no srnsr of satisfaction 
for tljr triumphs itou tjaur nature inourr uou to insult 
your fall™ runny. IGrt no snouting, no rlamorotts 
tjuzzalf ing inrrrasr tlirir mortifiration. 3t is sufttrirnt 
for m ttjat uir witness tljrir oumiltatiun. posterity 
uiill Iju^al) for us/' 

— immortal Horns at f urktonm. 




By Courtesy of Washington-Virginia Railway Co. 

The Old Lodge Gateway to Mount Vernon 




By Perry Picture Co. 

Washington and Lafayette at Mount Vernon 



Incidents in the Life of Washington 

IT IS interesting to review the familiar incidents in the 
life of General Washington and to note the variations 
of the different historians, but the versions given here 
come from authentic sources : 

Few historians deal with the pretty fairy-like tale of 
the hatchet and the cherry-tree, as this seems to belong 
to Parson Weems alone, who had pastoral connections with 
the family, and who tells it upon the credit of a woman, 
after the death of Mr. Washington. However let us handle 
this little favorite of the kindergarten with jealous care 
lest we touch its credence: for it is clever, as well as in- 
spiring; its diction and moral are good, and it has been 
delightfully enshrined in one little poem that we recall, 
so we leave it with all it means to Parson Weems, who 
also relates the story of little George's excitement when 
he saw his name growing in the garden, where his father 
had planted it ; and it is possible that this incident occurred 
at Mount Vernon, as the parents lived there at a time when 
the early impressions were being made upon the son. But 
the dear Parson has such an extravagant style all his own 
that one almost holds one's breath as he paints the angelic 
character of his hero, lest he turn pale and vanish as the 
good little children were wont to do in our Sunday school 
stories of yesterday. 

Kills His Mother's Favorite Horse 

Another story, which is not a myth, which sets forth 
his truthfulness in early youth, and which is told by Mr. 
Custis, is that of the tragic fate of his mother's favorite 
young horse: 

This spirited, blooded sorrel, which promised to be as 
famous as the horse "that the brutal emperor raised to 
the dignity of consul," was the very apple of her eye; but 
possessed a fierce, ungovernable nature that resisted all 
effort toward subjection by the rein, and had reached full 

27 



28 Incidents 

stature without a rider. On one occasion when boyish 
visitors were in the house, the future conqueror of Lord 
Cornwallis, suggested that he would tame this "terror of 
the parish" if they would lend assistance in bridling him. 
With mutual consent, the lads set about their task early 
the following morning, decoying the animal into an en- 
closure where the bit was forced into his mouth. The 
daring youth then sprang to his back, while the tackle was 
being removed, and the battle began. He at first attempted 
to fly, as if unconscious of his burden; but feeling the 
power of a strong arm which "might have tamed his Arab 
grandsire in his wild career on the deserts," the struggle 
became terrific to the consternation of the spectators. But 
the youthful hero clung on tenaciously, and for a moment 
the conflict seemed to abate, but, the infuriated steed sum- 
moning all force for one final effort for freedom, made a 
mighty plunge, burst his heart and fell dead, while the 
rider escaped uninjured. The youthful group stood aghast! 
"What was to be done!" had scarcely escaped their aston- 
ished lips when breakfast was announced ; and no sooner 
had they taken their places about the table than the mother 
said, "Pray, young gentlemen, have you seen my blooded 
colts in your rambles? I hope they are well taken care 
of. My favorite, I am told, is as large as his sire." Silence 
and consternation followed, while the question was repeated. 
Then, rising to the situation, the son replied, "Your fav- 
orite, the sorrel, is dead, Madam." "Dead !" she exclaimed, 
"why, how did this happen?" The story was correctly told. 
The color mounted to her face for a moment, but presently 
she serenely said, "It is well, but while I regret the loss 
of my favorite, I rejoice in my son, who always speaks 
the truth." 

Braddock's Defeat and the Indian Prophesy 

Every schoolboy and girl remembers the fascinating 
story of General Braddock's defeat. How the haughty 
Britisher scorned the young Colonel when he warned him 
of the danger of savage warfare by saying, "Things have 
come to a strange pass when a young Virginian attempts to 
teach the King's regulars how to fight!" 



Incidents 29 

Along with General Braddock came his servant, Thomas 
Bishop, who had attended him throughout the seven years' 
war on the Continent, and who was present when Colonel 
Washington entreated him for the last time to let him 
advance the Virginia woodmen and the friendly Indians, 
as they better understood the treachery of savage warfare, 
and he would not listen. 

Colonel Washington had risen from a sickbed for this 
occasion, and after the General had instructed his old serv- 
ant to keep an eye open to aid him, the battle was on. 
Sixty-four British officers were killed and wounded, and 
Washington was the only mounted officer left on the field, 
and he had two horses shot under him, four bullets passed 
through his clothes, and two pierced his hat. Braddock had 
five horses killed under him before he fell mortally 
wounded. 

Washington made his way to the side of the dying 
commander who was "raging like a lion," though in the 
very jaws of death, and still breathing defiance to the foe, 
while resting in Bishop's arms. He grasped the young 
Virginian's hand, and exclaimed, "Oh! my dear Colonel, had 
I been governed by your advice, it would never have come 
to this !" He then advised Bishop to remain in America 
and go into the service of Washington, saying, "Be but as 
faithful to him as you have been to me, and rely upon it 
the remainder of your days will be prosperous and happy." 
He left his sword and horse to Colonel Washington, and 
despite the much that has been written about that famous 
horse, according to Washington's diary, he never saw the 
horse, — it was not delivered. 

However, at midnight, on that memorable July 9, 1755, 
Colonel Washington was called upon to read the impressive 
Anglican burial service by torch light over the grave of 
General Braddock, which was made in the middle of the 
road that the army in marching might destroy all traces 
of it from the Indians. 



30 Incidents 

A Mysterious Visitor 

Sixteen years after the defeat of General Braddock, 
while Colonel Washington and Dr. James Craik were on 
their way with a considerable party to the Kanawha to 
explore the country and make surveys, they camped in a 
remote region, which is now embraced in Kanawha, Mason, 
Jackson and Cabell counties, West Virginia. In his diary 
he notes that his horse being unable to proceed farther, 
he left him at the home of his brother, Samuel Washing- 
ton on Worthington marsh, got one in his stead and pro- 
ceeded to Samuel Pritchard's on Cacapehon. 

One clay, while resting here in his rustic camp so 
abundantly surrounded by game of every kind, a party of 
Indians, led by a trader, were discovered. There was no 
sign of hostility, as peace seemed to brood over the country 
just then and they paused a short distance away, while the 
interpreter advanced and stated that he was conducting a 
party, which consisted of a grand sachem, and some attend- 
ant warriors ; that the chief was a very great man among 
the northwestern tribes, and the same one that had com- 
manded the Indians at Braddock's defeat ; that he had heard 
of Colonel Washington's visit to the western country, and 
had come on a mission that he, himself, would disclose. 

In accord with his usual courtesy, Colonel Washington 
received the ambassador, and as soon as the camp could be 
set in order, the strangers were introduced. The sachem 
at once recognized the hero of Monongahela among the 
group, though the intervening years had made some changes 
since he saw him in the midst of the fight on that eventful 
day, and fired seventeen shots at him without avail. 

The Indian was lofty in stature, and dignified in bear- 
ing, and he quietly displayed the most reverential deference 
while the salutations went round among the rest; but it 
was in vain that the Colonel extended his hand to him ; the 
Indian drew back with awe, refused spirits, tobacco, which 
Washington despised, and every other proffered courtesy. 
The festal board was surrounded, and Washington seated 
the Chief at his side and bountifully helped his plate, but 
he touched it not to the amazement and wonder of the 



Incidents 31 

company. Intense anxiety over such extraordinary actions 
became apparent in the atmosphere ; but finally the council 
fire was kindled, and the Chief broke the silence with the 
following explanation: 

"I am elder and ruler over many tribes. My influence 
extends to the waters of the Great Lakes and to the far 
blue mountains. I have traveled a long and weary path 
that I might see the young warrior of the great battle. It 
was on the day when the white man's blood mixed with 
the streams of the forest that I first beheld this chief. I 
called to my young men and said, 'mark you that tall daring 
warrior? He is not of the Redcoat tribe; he has an Indian's 
wisdom and his warriors fight as we do, — himself alone 
is exposed. Quick let your aim.' Our rifles were leveled, — 
rifles, which, but for him, knew not how to miss, — 'twas 
all in vain ; a power, mightier by far than we, shielded him 
from harm. He cannot die in battle. I am old and soon 
shall be gathered to the great council fire of my fathers in 
the land of the shades ; but ere I go, there is something 
bids me speak in the voice of prophesy. Listen! the Great 
Spirit protects that man and guides his destinies; he will 
become the chief of nations ; and a people yet unborn, will 
hail him the founder of a mighty empire." The savage 
ceased speaking at this. His oracle delivered, his prophetic 
mission fulfilled, he retired to muse in silence upon "that 
wonder-working Spirit, which his untutored mind so often 
saw in clouds and heard in winds." 

At nightfall, these dusky-faced visitors spread their 
blankets and were soon lost in slumber, and at early dawn 
they bade their hosts adieu, "folded their tents, and quietly 
stole away" toward the distant haunts of their tribes. 

This mysterious visit left its impress upon all ; but Dr. 
Craik carried it throughout the Revolution, and it many 
times served to dispel his fears when dangers surrounded, 
so firmly did he believe in this prophesy, which he handed 
down to Mr. Custis, who has thus preserved it. 

Valley Forge 

Someone has declared that General Washington on his 
knees at Valley Forge is "the sublimest figure in all his- 



32 Incidents 

tory." This place took its name from iron-works that had 
been erected there by one Isaac Potts, and it must ever 
live in history for the part it played in our struggle for 
independence ; for in the language of another, "The courage 
of the battlefield dwindles almost into insignificance in com- 
parison with the heroism displayed in the soldiery at Valley 
Forge in the midst of frost, snow, disease, and destitution, 
with their bloody tracks upon the ground." 

Here Lafayette and the French entered in, and Baron 
Von Steuben began his training and discipline of the troops, 
which had such a telling effect on the later campaigns. It 
was here, too, that Mr. Potts, one morning, heard a voice 
in prayer from a secluded woody nook, and going softly in 
that direction, saw the great General upon his knees, with 
his face bathed in tears, pleading for the cause of liberty, 
at the throne of the Great Commander. Returning to the 
house he told his wife what he had seen, and assured her 
that liberty under such a leader was certain. Mrs. Wash- 
ington spent some time with him here, where they were 
quartered in an old log house owing to the severity of the 
weather. Her arrival at camp was always a great event — 
a sort of epoch in the army to have her cheery presence in 
the midst of the gloom. She always remained until the 
opening of the campaign ; and in after life was often heard 
to remark that it had been her fortune to hear the first 
and last cannon of all the campaigns during the Revolution. 
It was a heavy blow to have her only son make the supreme 
sacrifice at the moment of triumph for the cause of freedom. 

His Love for Horses 

Washington's love for horses went with him through 
life. The stables at Mount Vernon consisted of ten coach 
and saddle horses, and of two white chargers, a coachman, 
and two groomsmen. 

Prescott, a fine parade horse of pure white, sixteen 
hands in height, was the one the General usually rode. Jack- 
son, another favorite, was a superb creature of white with 
flowing mane and tail. He took his name from Major 
Jackson, aid-de-camp of President Washington, who figured 
in a runaway incident, at Princeton in 1790 while the 



Incidents 33 

Presidential party was en route from New York to Phila- 
delphia, to the great discomfiture of Major Jackson, and 
to the intense amusement of the brilliant cavalry cortege 
in attendance. Among the coach horses at Mount Vernon 
was a beautiful span of bays, which had been bred on this 
estate, and which drew the coach for Mrs. Washington on 
her visits to Philadelphia. 

Nelson, the General's favorite charger, which he rode 
on the day of the surrender at Yorktown, was a light sorrel, 
sixteen hands high with white face and legs, noted as the 
first nicked horse to come to America. This famous charger 
died at Mount Vernon many years after the Revolution, 
but was never ridden after the Chief ceased to mount him. 
He spent his summers in paddock, and was well-cared for 
in winter; would always run to the fence at the approach 
of his master to receive the coveted caress ! 

The General was fond of all kinds of sports, but, in 
1785 when he bade adieu to the chase, he broke up his 
kennel, giving his beloved hounds away. He then formed 
the deer park below the mansion extending to the river, 
which he first stocked with native deer; then added the 
English fallow from the park of Governor Ogle of Mary- 
land. But he would not permit one of, them to be killed 
until he was convinced that the poachers were preying upon 
his herd. And then it had to be done according to strict, 
humane orders ; and he appeared upon the scene in time 
to be assured that these orders had been obeyed. The 
following day the haunch was served in the family dining- 
room to a number of guests; and the antlers of this noted 
buck were preserved under the label of the "Washington 
stag." He wrote in his diary at one time: "We have one 
hundred and one cows, and I have to buy butter for the 
family." 

Other Incidents 

It was Henry Lee who immortalized himself by char- 
acterizing General Washington as "First in war, first in 
peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen." But it 
was the General himself who left these memorable words 
on record at Yorktown : "My brave fellows, let no sense 



34 Incidents 

of satisfaction for the triumphs you have gained induce you 
to insult your fallen enemy. Let no shouting, no clamorous 
huzzahing increase their mortification. It is sufficient for 
us that we witness their humiliation. Posterity will huzza 
for us." Lafayette in speaking of him at Monmouth, says : 
"I was a very young major-general on the day of the battle 
of Monmouth, but thought that I had never seen so superb 
a man, when he with his steed covered with foam, rallied 
our line with the words, "Stand fast my boys, and receive 
your enemy ; the Southern troops are advancing to support 
you." Lafayette also leaves this record: "I never saw so 
large a hand on any human being as the General's." Ac- 
cording to an authentic record, General Washington's hair 
was of hazel brown, and his eyes light greyish blue, and 
he stood six feet two inches — just six feet when measured 
for the grave. 

On one occasion, it was boasted at the table of the 
British governor in New York that a regiment, which had 
just landed from England included some of the finest speci- 
men of martial elegance in his Majesty's service, — in fact 
the most superb-looking fellows that had ever been landed 
upon the shores of the Western world. An American woman 
wagered that she could point out a finer specimen in the 
procession on the morrow. So as the line passed through 
Broadway before the Governor, he called attention to several 
officers by name, claiming her admiration for their supe- 
riority. In the rear came a band of Colonial officers, not 
on duty. Presently the Governor's eyes became riveted 
upon a tall, martial figure. The lady noticed that his atten- 
tion was turned on the right object and said, "What say 
you as to your wager now?" He replied, "Lost, Madam, 
when I laid my wager, I was not aware that Colonel Wash- 
ington was in New York." 

Cully, the old family servant who had lived to see five 
generations, in his hundredth year when questioned con- 
cerning his memories of Washington replied, "Great times, 
great times, sir. Shall never see the like again. Never 
the like of him, though I have seen many in my day. So 
tall, so straight; then he sat a horse and rode with such 



Incidents 35 

an air! Ah! sir, he was like no one else. Many of the 
grandest gentlemen in their gold lace were at the wedding, 
but none looked like the man himself." 

As master of servants, General Washington was con- 
sistent and kind. An interesting reminiscence of his hunts- 
man and Revolutionary attendant, Billy, has been preserved 
— "Billy" Lee, who was especially provided for and survived 
his good master by many years. He had been a stout, 
active man, a famous horseman, but some accident ren- 
dered him a cripple for a number of years before his death 
at a ripe old age. This superannuated follower of the 
Chief in the chase and in war was very interesting to the 
visitors at Mount Vernon and his coffers were oftentimes 
enriched by them. General Washington left to Billy 
a house and a pension of one hundred and fifty dollars the 
year, and he became a "spoiled child of fortune;" was in- 
clined toward intemperance, and finally delirium tremens 
in all its horror seized him, and he was relieved by being 
bled ; but one morning when Westford, an old mulatto, was 
sent to thus bring him out of a fit, the blood refused to 
flow. Billy was no more. 

General Washington preserved the following gem in 
his diary, as a quotation from Colonel Tilghman, the noted 
Marylander, who announced the fall of Yorktown at Phila- 
delphia: "When a man has to look back upon his ances- 
tors to make sure he is a gentleman, he is but a poor sort 
of man." 




g>arrF& to tiyr ilFtttorg 
nf % 




Mary Ball Washington as the "Rose of 
Epping Forest" 



'®tfi nnly nnblr to be goon 

Kino Ijearta art more ttjan rnrnnrta 

Ann Htmnlp fatttj than Norman blnnn. 

— ®rnmjson. 




From Painting by Lowell 



The Home of Mary Ball Washington at Fredericksburg and 
Wakefield, the Birthplace of General Washington 



The Washington Ancestral Line 

THE Washingtons trace their ancestry through the 
family of Sulgrave manor, Northamptonshire, to John 
Washington, of Lancaster. After him the line is clear 
and authentic, before him mere conjecture. 

The name comes from de Wessynton or Wessynton 
without the de; then Wasshington and Washington as it 
appears as the name of a parish in county Durham in Eng- 
land at an early day. 

John Washington, of Warton, had a son, Lawrence, 
the grantee of Sulgrave, and this name, like the father's, 
had been handed down not infrequently before reaching 
Mount Vernon. On the tomb of this Lawrence in the church 
at Sulgrave is found engraved the family coat-of-arms ; 
and the three-spur rowels above the red bars on a field of 
white, which appeared as early as 1360 in the seal of 
William de Wessyngton, is said to have suggested the stars 
and stripes of our flag. 

Lawrence, meeting with reverses, was compelled to 
give up his manor house, and, in 1606, Lord Spencer, his 
good friend and neighbor, built him a home in the village 
of Little Brighton, where he spent the remainder of his 
life. "Washington House," as it has been known and pointed 
out to pilgrims for centuries, was later occupied by Law- 
rence's brother, Robert, and his family. Lawrence's widow, 
however, occupied it until 1636 when she went to live with 
her son, another Lawrence, who was rector of Purleigh, at 
Essex. This son, the Reverend Lawrence Washington, M.A., 
was married to Amphillis Rhodes, and John, the emigrant, 
and five other sons and daughters, were the result of this 
union. 

England, at this time, was in the throes of civil con- 
vulsions, and Charles II was in banishment; the Puritans 
of the eleven-year commonwealth were carrying govern- 
mental affairs with high hand, and affairs in general were 
in turmoil. The Washingtons were Royalists — committed 

39 



40 Washington Ancestral Line 

to the cause, not merely because of their holdings of the 
Rectory of Purleigh, but by the traditional devotion of 
generations to the crown. Consequently the father was 
deprived of his parish in 1643, and to escape from petty 
persecutions, his son, John, crossed to Virginia near the 
year 1658, and his brother, Lawrence, and a sister soon 
followed to this land of promise. So with John Washington, 
the emigrant, the history of the family in America begins, 
as does the connection of the Washingtons at Mount Vernon. 

He did not come direct to the upper tide-water of the 
Potomac, but settled in Westmoreland county, between the 
Rappahannock and the Potomac, which gave his name to 
the parish. His wife and two children died not long after 
his arrival in this wilderness, and he was then married to 
Mrs. Anne Pope Brodhurst, widow of Walter Brodhurst; 
and where Bridges creek meets the Potomac, seventy miles 
below the Capitol, he reared his humble dwelling at what 
was later known as Wakefield. Here their sons, Lawrence 
and Augustine, were born. 

Augustine was sent to England to be educated, and 
upon his return, he was married to Miss Jane Butler, 
daughter of Caleb Butler, of Westmoreland county ; and 
of the four children born of this union, but two, Lawrence 
and Augustine, survived childhood. The mother, Jane, 
passed from sight in 1728, and Augustine Washington then 
claimed Miss Mary Ball, daughter of Colonel Joseph Ball, 
as his bride ; and she was destined to have her name written 
upon the highest pinnacle of fame as the mother of the 
"Father of His Country." George was the first born of 
this union, and Samuel, John Augustine, Charles, Elizabeth, 
who became Mrs. Fielding Lewis, and Mildred, who died in 
childhood, were the other children. 

Not long after the birth of George, the parents moved 
up the river to the Hunting Creek lands, as the name of 
Augustine Washington appears as vestryman of Truro Par- 
ish, as early as 1735, but, as has already been stated, after 
their dwelling was burned, they removed to near Fredericks- 
burg, where Mr. Washington died when George was but 
eleven years of age, leaving the shaping of the destiny of 
this promising lad entirely to his strong-minded mother. 



Washington Ancestral Line 41 

But the father to whom the boy was so greatly attached, 
had not failed to stamp upon him, both by example and 
precept, his noble principles, and some of these early im- 
pressions went with him through life. 

Mary, the Mother of Washington 

Mary Ball was descended from an old and highly re- 
spected family of English colonists, who settled on the banks 
of the Potomac, at the mouth of the Corotoman river in 
Lancaster County, Virginia, in 1650. William Ball, the 
emigrant, had two sons, William and Joseph ; and Mary 
Ball was the youngest daughter of William, who was a 
well-to-do planter. She was born on the banks of the 
Rappahannock in 1706; and here amidst these rural sur- 
roundings, with scant educational advantages, grew into 
a lovely young womanhood — so noted for her beauty and 
charm that she was known as the "Rose of Epping Forest," 
when she became the bride of Augustine Washington in 
1730. Strong and noble in her quiet, unobtrusive simplicity, 
she has come down in history simply as the "Mother of 
Washington ;" for she refused to be swerved from her 
natural, everyday manner of living, by any honors that 
might be conferred upon her son. And when he rose to 
the highest pinnacle of fame, she quietly accepted it as a 
matter of course, "as he had always been a good boy." 

When this son started out in the world to try his for- 
tune alone, this reserved mother, with a heart overflowing 
with affection, beneath a calm and dignified exterior, sent 
him on his way with this blessing: "Remember, George, 
God only is our sure trust: to Him I commend you." When 
she was told of the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, she lifted 
her hands toward Heaven and exclaimed, "Thank God ! war 
will now be ended, and peace, independence, and happiness 
bless our country." She managed her farm down to old age 
and insisted upon living alone, though her daughter, Mrs. 
Betty Lewis, who resided near ever kept her palatial door 
open to her. When the war cloud of the Revolution began 
to hang threateningly about the colonies, Washington per- 
suaded her to move to Fredericksburg, where she continued 



42 Washington Ancestral Line 

to reside to the close of her life. Here the Victor of York- 
town returned, to embrace his mother, after a separation 
of seven years. She was alone and employed about her 
domestic duties when he was announced. A warm embrace 
bade him welcome. She inquired as to his health, noted 
the furrows of care that had been added to his brow, since 
last they met, spoke of friends of former days, but never 
a word of his glory. 

Fredericksburg hastened to pay homage to the Con- 
queror of Lord Cornwallis in the form of a citizens' ball, 
and Mrs. Washington did attend that in her usual equa- 
namity. The foreign officers had been very anxious to see 
the mother of their Chieftain of whom they had heard so 
much; and with their European standards of glitter and 
show as criterions of greatness, their surprise was complete 
when a matron of queenly dignity, gowned in the very plain 
style of the old-time Virginia lady, entered upon the arm 
of the distinguished hero ; accepted the highest attentions 
without the slightest evidence of elevation, and at an early 
hour bade the company goodnight saying: "It is time for 
old folks to be in bed," and left upon her son's arm. The 
officers were amazed that she should thus deport herself 
under such a blaze of glory as shone about her son. It 
was unheard of in the Old World, and one was heard to 
remark, "If such are the matrons of America, well may 
she boast of her illustrious sons." 

When Lafayette was on the eve of his departure for 
Europe in 1784, he went to Fredericksburg to pay his 
respects to Mrs. Washington. As he approached the house, 
her grandson, who was acting as his escort, said, "That 
is my grandmother, sir." The distinguished Frenchman's 
eye fell upon her at work in her garden, clad in domestic- 
made garments with a plain straw hat upon her head. She 
greeted him cordially with, "Ah! Marquis, you see an old 
woman, but come, I can make you welcome to my poor 
dwelling without the parade of changing my dress." Much 
as the Marquis had already heard, he was struck with 
admiring wonder. Her advanced age, and the unprecedented 
glory that encircled her son had wrought no change in her 
quiet simplicity; and when he eulogized that son, and con- 



Washington Ancestral Line 43 

gratulated her, she calmly replied, "I am not surprised at 
what George has done, he was always a very good boy." 

She had an innate fear of lightning, which had its 
origin in a tragic incident of her youth and which followed 
her through life. A young friend was killed at her side, 
and the knife and fork that she held in her hand were 
melted by the flash, and the impression of that moment 
ever returned with its terror at the approach of an elec- 
tric storm. 

In 1789 when General Washington was leaving for New 
York to assume his presidential duties, he went to Fred- 
ericksburg to tell his mother goodbye. She was then in 
feeble health from the malady that carried her away; and 
when he spoke of hastening back to Virginia when the 
outset of the new government could be disposed of, she 
interrupted him by assuring him that he would see her no 
more; that age and disease were already preying upon her 
vitals and that she could not be long for this world now. 
But she said, "I trust God that I may be somewhat pre- 
pared for a better. Go, George, fulfill the high destinies 
which Heaven appears to have intended you for ; go, my son, 
and may that Heaven and a mother's blessing be with you 
always." 

This was too much for the strong man. Forgetful of 
the recent laurels and diadem, his head dropped to her 
shoulder and he wept, while her feeble arms encircled his 
neck, and fond memories were revived. This was truly 
the last meeting. She sank to rest on August 25, 1789, at 
the age of eighty-three, just a few months later, and he was 
unable to be present at the funeral. 

They laid her down to sleep at Fredericksburg. Long 
years after, a public monument was reared in grateful 
remembrance above her tomb. It bears the simple inscrip- 
tion: "Mary, the Mother of Washington." 

Augustine Washington died April 11, 1743. 

Lawrence Washington 

Lawrence Washington, the builder of Mount Vernon, 
was born of the first union, the elder half-brother of George. 



44 Washington Ancestral Line 

He was but twenty-two years of age when he came into 
possession of this estate, and he seemed to have no idea of 
settling down to the life of a planter. So when the call 
came from the Motherland for troops from the Colonies 
for the reinforcement of General Wentworth and Admiral 
Vernon, who were engaged in the discipline of the Spaniards 
in the West Indies, he enlisted under the commission of 
captain, and departed with the Colonial troops, and fought 
at Carthagena. He survived the bullets and the fever 
scourge, and returned home in 1742. Military life now had 
a fascination for him, and he had no thought of abandoning 
the sword. But the charms of a fair daughter of Belvoir, 
a neighboring estate, held the balance of power, and the 
following year he and Anne Fairfax were wed. She was 
the daughter of William Fairfax, and thus he was united 
to one of the most influential families of Virginia, as she 
was a cousin of Lord Thomas Fairfax, and her half-brother, 
Bryan, inherited his title. And Lawrence developed into 
one of the prominent men of the colony within the next 
ten years. He was appointed adjutant of the military dis- 
trict with the rank of major, and was repeatedly a member 
of the House of Burgesses. 

However, failing health caused him to sail for the West 
Indies, accompanied by his brother, George, who suffered 
from the smallpox while there, and returned sooner than 
Lawrence. But no benefit being derived from this change 
of climate, he returned home to die; and in 1752 he was 
laid away at Mount Vernon, by the side of his four little 
ones who preceded him to the other side. Dying without 
heirs, this younger brother, to whom he was so greatly 
attached, fell heir to the estate. 

Here all the family lie, and while the name of Law- 
rence Washington has been so overshadowed by the renown 
of his younger brother, it will ever stand out in bas relief 
as the builder of this historic mansion, and the bestowing 
of its present beautiful name. 



Washington Ancestral Line 45 

Other Washingtons Fall Heir 

At the death of General George Washington, his 
nephew, Bushrod Washington, by the terms of his will, 
came into possession of the old mansion with four thousand 
acres. He was the second child of John Augustine Wash- 
ington, the younger brother of George, and he occupied 
the estate for twenty-seven years, but the only evidence 
of his handiwork which survives is the porch outside the 
library windows. He was graduated from William and 
Mary's College, served as a private at Yorktown, and was 
a very successful lawyer; was at one time associate justice 
of the supreme court. He died on November 20, 1829, while 
attending court at Philadelphia, and his wife, Anne Black- 
burn Washington, only survived him by a few days. They 
had no issue, and both rest at Mount Vernon. 

Bushrod Washington in turn left the mansion, with 
1,225 acres to his nephew, John Augustine Washington, the 
third child of Corbin Washington ; and he, foreseeing that 
it would be impossible for any member of the family to 
maintain the place and respond to its demands which meant 
utter ruin, wisely provided for its sale to the government. 
To wring a living from its worn acres and meet the tide 
of visitors with the open-handed hospitality that had set 
it apart in former days was impossible; for in addition to 
the tourists from all parts of the world, everyone in public 
life at Washington City, felt free to come and to ask atten- 
tion for friends and constituents, who were sent with letters 
of introduction, which not only bespoke the privilege of the 
home but entertainment as well. 

John Augustine Washington, born in 1792, was mar- 
ried to Miss Jane Charlotte Blackburn, daughter of Major 
Richard Scott Blackburn, of the United States Army, in 
1814; and they lived in Jefferson county before succeeding 
to this inheritance. They had five children, two of whom 
died in infancy. The head of the household died in 1832, 
leaving the estate to his wife with the privilege of dis- 
tributing it among the children as she wished. She deeded 
the mansion to her eldest son, John Augustine Washing- 
ton, and later confirmed it by her will. She remained here 



46 Washington Ancestral Line 

until 1843. In February of that year, he was married to 
Eleanor Love Selden, of Virginia, and this John Augustine 
was the last Washington to own Mount Vernon. He and 
his wife had seven children ; viz, Louisa Fontaine, Jane 
Charlotte, Eliza Selden, Anne Maria, Lawrence, Eleanor 
Love, and George, all of whom were born at Mount Vernon, 
except Eliza, and they were the last children born here. 

It will be noted that the acreage grew less about the 
mansion as it was transferred from time to time, but this 
has only to deal with the mansion and including grounds. 

As had been foreseen, the estate was falling into decay, 
as private ownership could no longer hold sway. Both 
Virginia and the National government had declined to pur- 
chase it, and the question of how to preserve this shrine, 
which meant so much to the nation and to the world became 
a grave one. But the hand of Fate seemed to intervene at 
a most opportune moment. 

The Mount Vernon Association 

IT WAS the custom for steamboats plying the Potomac 
to toll the bells in passing Mount Vernon. The custom 
is said to have originated on August 24, 1814, when 
Commodore Gordon, commander of the English fleet, in 
passing ordered the bell of his flagship the "Seahorse" 
tolled ; and thus every passenger was reminded of the sig- 
nificance of the place. 

One day a steamship chanced to carry a passenger 
from South Carolina in the person of Mrs. Robert Cunning- 
ham, who was born at Alexandria, six years before the 
death of Washington, and whose father and grandfather 
had been associated with him as vestrymen of the old 
Christ's Church. She was on her way to Philadelphia to 
place her invalid daughter under medical care, and the tones 
of the tolling bell made a deep impression on her patriotic 
heart. She awoke to the realization that something must 
be done or this sacred place would be lost; and she men- 
tioned the matter to her daughter, saying that the other 
plans for preservation had failed, and that it was left to 
the women of America to come to the rescue. 



Washington Ancestral Line 47 

Immediately this suggestion took root in the daughter's 
heart, and from her invalid's chair through difficulties un- 
told, and even under ridicule at times, she carried the 
resolve of that moment to success, after years of persistent 
effort. She made her appeal under the nom de plume of 
a "Southern Maiden," as women at that time were supposed 
to be seen and not heard. 

Women brave and true all over the country heeded the 
call and rallied in behalf of this sacred shrine. Contribu- 
tions came in from every quarter, but difficulties unfore- 
seen arose from time to time; and in March, 1856, Miss 
Cunningham traveled in her invalid's chair, in great pain, 
to Richmond that she might intercede for the cause ; and 
she enlisted the aid of Edward Everett Hale, who had 
gone there to deliver his renowned eulogy on Washington, 
and he generously turned the proceeds of this lecture over 
to the fund, and subsequently contributed the sum of $69,964 
besides being a champion for the cause in other ways. 

At last on March 19, 1858, both houses of the Virginia 
legislature passed an act incorporating the Mount Vernon 
Ladies' Association. But it now developed that Mr. Wash- 
ington had refused to sell the estate to this corporation — 
that he would sell to the state only, and the efforts of all these 
toilsome years seemed lost. But with a woman's indomi- 
table courage, Miss Cunningham resolved to confront Mr. 
Washington in person, and she set out in her chair, making 
the trip from Charleston to Baltimore by boat. She was 
kindly received, but the owner refused to change his posi- 
tion, which seemed to be based on sentiment, and she was 
taken back to the boat-landing. But an unseen hand seemed 
to be guiding, and after waiting some length of time in a 
skiff for the boat, she was compelled to return to the man- 
sion for the night. During the evening, she learned the 
real secret of the opposition to be that this movement was 
designed to reflect on him, and to her joy she was able 
to remove this false impression and carry the day. Owing 
to the many disappointments and delays, ardor had by this 
time died away, but her courage was equal to the emer- 
gency, and she set about with new zeal and devotion to 
revive it; and on April 6, 1858, the contract through which 



48 Washington Ancestral Line 

this association became the owners was signed. By this 
time Miss Cunningham was so helpless that the pen had 
to be placed in her hand and she had to be lifted up and 
supported while signing the document. Thus the struggle 
of five weary years was crowned with victory. This shrine 
had been saved to the nation by the efforts of patriotic 
women, and she was content. 

Two hundred thousand dollars was the price paid, but 
it must now be restored to precisely what it was in Wash- 
ington's day, so that when other seats of great men have 
yielded to the mandates of modern change and fashion this 
will remain what it was when ennobled by the presence 
of the founder of liberty. So funds were raised to restore 
it ; out-buildings were replaced ; a sea-wall was built, and 
beautifying touches were everywhere added. Then the scat- 
tered relics of former days must be collected, so as to restore 
its identity, and this was no slight task or expense. And 
how marvelously this has been accomplished the visitor of 
today can testify. True the library and many other things 
are wanting, but nothing has been accepted that did not 
relate to Washington and Mount Vernon. 

Miss Ann Pamelia Cunningham has an enduring monu- 
ment in this patriotic association. She remained as regent 
of it until one year before her death, which occurred at 
her home at Laurens, South Carolina, on June 1, 1875. Her 
parting admonition to the association as she lay her armor 
down is worthy of preservation here : 

"Ladies, the home of Washington is in your charge; 
see to it that you keep it the home of Washington. Let 
no irreverent hand change it; no vandal hand desecrate 
it with fingers of progress. Those who go to the home 
where he lived and died wish to see in what he lived and 
died. Let one spot in this grand country of ours be saved 
from change ! Upon you rests this duty." And the multi- 
plied thousands who annually pay tribute at this shrine 
are witnesses to the sacredness with which this admonition 
has been obeyed. 



Nellie Custis and Woodlawn 

THE last anniversary of the birth of the "Father of 
His Country" will ever stand out in history for its 
double significance: for it was the wedding day of his 
beloved ward, Eleanor Parke Custis, and never before had 
historic old Mount Vernon been brighter or gayer. 

From the time the fair, little three-year-old became a 
member of this household, at the death of her father, she 
had not only been the pet and idol of this home, but of the 
great of this and other lands, who came under this distin- 
guished roof. Now in the full blush and promise of her 
young womanhood, so charming in her bridal-robe and 
orange blossoms, it is small wonder that "she was the 
center of all eyes ; the theme of all praise ;" for no other 
girlish figure in the annals of America has ever held such 
sway over the hearts of her countrymen, as did the beau- 
tiful, vivacious Nellie Custis, who retained this sway down 
to a ripe and graceful old age. She was a child of nature 
and delighted in all things beautiful. 

It is told of her that her romantic nature and her love 
for wandering alone in the forest by moonlight, occasioned 
her grandmother anxiety for her safety, and she exacted the 
promise that Nellie would not visit the woods alone again. 
However, one evening she was reprimanded for this offense 
by Mrs. Washington, and reminded of the broken promise. 
She acknowledged her failure and offered its attendant ex- 
cuse, and was just closing the door in retirement from the 
room, when General Washington said, "My dear, I would 
say no more, perhaps, she was not alone." The little lassie 
could not accept such a challenge of her truthfulness, and 
reopening the door, she walked up to the General and said, 
"Sir, you brought me up to speak the truth, and when I told 
Grandmamma I was alone, I hope you will believe I was 
alone." This was too much for the General. He made one 
of his most magnanimous bows, and said, "My child, I beg 
your pardon !" 

51 



52 Nellie Custis and Woodlawn 

Her loving, childish influence over the heart of the 
great man, who seemed so unapproachable, was marked. 
Her sweet smile and little confidences whispered in his ear, 
while she held affectionately to the button of his coat, 
brought her heart's desire in pretty gowns and the innumer- 
able other things that she wished. How charmingly her 
early pathway was arched with sunshine and roses, but the 
afternoon and eventide of life were deeply touched by sorrow 
and care. 

One writer says, "She was as witty as she was beau- 
tiful ;" and a famous portrait shows her sweet, girlish face 
framed in dark curls, while her long hair is gathered care- 
lessly at the top of her head with a cluster of white flowers, 
and this portrait, which sets forth the simplicity of her 
youthful charm on another page, certainly verifies all that 
has been written of her rare beauty. Naturally gifted, 
highly educated, and brought up under the refining influ- 
ences of the first home of the land, with the additional ad- 
vantages of several years in the Presidential mansions at 
New York and Philadelphia, she was well-fitted for the life 
that awaited her. 

February 22, 1799, the anniversary of her guardian and 
ideal hero, was set apart as the nuptial day. Great prepara- 
tions had been made for the event. Deft fingers, with 
flowers and evergreen, had transformed the interior of this 
stately old mansion into a veritable bower. Picturesque 
Colonial costumes in "rich fabric and richer colors," with 
jeweled buckles, brooches, powder and ruffles, so incident 
to the period ; stately men, and willowy, girlish figures flit- 
ting about in the minuet and Virginia reel, under the waxen 
tapers, all contributed to the brilliant scene in this great 
drawing-room, which was destined to be hushed and still, ten 
months later, for the nuptial altar was to have in its stead 
the bier of the great Chief, who tonight had given the fair 
bride away with such courtly dignity. 

The Dandridges, Custises, Calverts, Lees, Lewises, Cor- 
bins, Bushrods, Blackburns, Masons, Carrolls and many of 
the other elite of the day witnessed the ceremony ; and the 
silent portraits of the great upon the walls looked down 
in striking contrast with the gay throng before them; 



Nellie Custis and Woodlawn 53 

for they tell us Mount Vernon had never before witnessed 
such a scene. 

Lawrence Lewis, the sixth child of Colonel Fielding 
and Betty Washington Lewis, who had won the rank of 
major in the Revolution, was the fortunate bridegroom. 
He was the favorite nephew of General Washington, and 
the one of the many suitors for Nellie's hand that he would 
have selected for the principal on this occasion, and this 
was a gratifying moment to him. 

When his social duties had become too great, and he 
longed for quiet he had asked this nephew to come and stay 
with him so as to relieve him of this and other cares. And 
it was in the mansion, in the gardens, along the walks, in the 
quiet of shady nooks, that "Love's old sweet story was told," 
and this was the happy culmination of the romance of these 
two favorites of the great General. 

Here, in the old mansion house, which had become so 
dear to Nellie by association, her first two daughters were 
born ; and it is said that it was a great disappointment to 
her and her husband, and to Mrs. Washington, when they 
found it had been transferred to Bushrod Washington, by 
the General's will, as they loved it so, and wished to remain 
here. Tradition says that the future master of Mount 
Vernon was coldly received when he came to attend his 
uncle's funeral, as Lawrence and Nellie cancelled their cus- 
tomary hospitality and he had to ask a slave to prepare his 
dinner. 

Woodlawn Built 

General Washington left two thousand acres to Major 
Lewis and Nellie, as their part of the Mount Vernon estate, 
beside other lands and cash sufficient to erect a home in 
accord with their ideas, and maintain their high social stand- 
ing; and Mrs. Washington added to this a fitting dower 
out of the abundance of her resources, so their new home 
was established under auspicious circumstances. 

It took its name, "Woodlawn," from the childhood 
home of Major Lewis in Culpeper County, Virginia, and 
was built in 1805 on Grey Heights, overlooking the river 
and Dogue bay, three miles inland from Mount Vernon ; 



54 Nellie Custis and Woodlawn 

and was the stateliest Colonial manor-house of the Upper 
Potomac. 

The main building is sixty by forty feet, with spacious 
halls and apartments, and ample wings united by corridors 
to the main portion ; and with its ideal settings of oaks, 
pines, and a park in the rear, it at once claims the admi- 
ration of the stranger, who knows nothing of its place in 
American history: for it is second only to Mount Vernon 
and Arlington, and should be a National shrine instead of 
the property of private individuals. It was bombarded by 
the British in 1812, but was not seriously injured, and it is 
said to be noted for its secret chambers which almost defy 
detection. 

Woodlawn was known far and wide for its hospitality. 
It opened its doors to the great of every land, who came 
to pay homage to the "Daughter of Mount Vernon." Among 
these notables was General Lafayette, who years before had 
oftentimes caressed her as a child, with paternal fondness, 
in her sweet, laughing moods in the home of his old Com- 
mander. She possessed an innate kindness and sympathy, 
which endeared her to all, alike, and the toilers on the 
plantation always found in her a helper. She was an 
advocate of the Episcopal Church faith, and carried her 
religion into her daily life; and it was her custom to have 
all the domestics of her home attend family prayers both 
morning and evening. She was a favorite wherever she 
went; the life of any company; and she retained much of 
her youthful vivacity, and traces of beauty as long as she 
lived. "She lived to be admired, and died to be regretted." 
One writer observes : "When that fair, smooth brow of the 
great artist's picture had been imprinted with the lines of 
three-score years, and those clustering curls had changed 
their brown to threads of snow, how she must have seemed 
like some saintly messenger to those who eagerly listened 
to her as she brought from memory's far-away shore the 
historic scenes, which had passed before those sparkling 
eyes in the hey-day of her youthful life." 

Major Lewis spent his last hours at Arlington on 
November 20, 1839, and after he had been laid away at 
Mount Vernon, she removed to Audley, an estate of near 



Nellie Custis and Woodlawn 55 

sixteen hundred acres, which belonged to him in Clarke 
County, Virginia. Here she passed from earth on July 15, 
1852, at the age of seventy-four: for she was born at Abing- 
don, between Washington and Alexandria, in March, 1778, 
during the American Revolution. "And one bright summer 
day, a lonely hearse followed by a single carriage, was 
seen wending its way along the Virginia highway from the 
Shenandoah to the Potomac." This hearse contained all that 
was mortal of Nellie Custis, who was being borne back to 
Mount Vernon to be laid at rest among the beloved scenes 
of her eventful youth. It was late at night when it arrived 
at its destination, and the casket was placed in the great 
drawing-room, where she had been crowned "as the fairest 
of the land" with her bridal-wreath, fifty years before. 
Many of the citizens of Washington and the surrounding 
country came to pay tribute as she lay in state, and to 
witness the "last sad rites" in one of her favorite childish 
nooks. She sleeps near her kind guardians — just outside 
the tomb and a marble monument, bearing the following 
inscription, marks her grave : 

"Sacred to the memory of Eleanor Park Custis, granddaughter of 
Mrs. Washington, and adopted daughter of General Washington." 

Another handsome monument in the same enclosure 
marks the grave of her daughter, Eleanor Angela Conrad. 
Her husband also sleeps here in the vault. 

The birds were singing as gayly about her quiet resting- 
place on the occasion of our recent visit, as they must 
have sung in the olden days when she listened with such 
rapturous delight. 

She had four children. Agnes, the eldest, died while 
in school at Philadelphia; Frances Parke, who became the 
wife of General E. G. W. Butler, spent her last hours at 
Pass Christian, Mississippi, some years ago ; Eleanor An- 
gela, who married the Honorable C. M. Conrad, died in New 
Orleans many years ago, and Lorenzo was the son. 

He fell heir to Woodlawn. In 1827, he claimed Miss 
Esther Maria Coxe, of Philadelphia, as his bride, and their 
family consisted of six children, all of whom have long 
since joined them on the other side. R. J. C. Lewis, of 



56 Nellie Custis and Woodlawn 

Berryville, Virginia, being- the last to go. For some years 
they resided at the mansion; but he died in 1847, and she 
survived him by many years. 

But as early as 1845, the entire estate presented a 
forlorn and forsaken appearance, with the neglect of years 
everywhere in evidence. Not a white man lived upon it, 
and only a few old slaves remained in rickety cabins, and 
they did not subsist upon the products from the soil. Only 
here and there a patch of ground showed cultivation. No 
grass had been sown, no hay harvested, and the fields were 
overgrown with brambles, sedge, sassafras, and cedars, and 
the fences had tumbled to decay. The taxes were about 
thirty dollars a year, when the buildings alone cost near one 
hundred thousand dollars, forty years before. 

At this crucial moment, the New Jersey Colony pur- 
chased the estate for twelve dollars and fifty cents the acre, 
and divided and sub-divided it into small farms for improve- 
ment. It was a melancholy change that greeted the eye of 
the pilgrim to this shrine, which had been so magnificent 
under the touch of the original, gracious mistress. 

There was talk in later years of the Sons and Daugh- 
ters of the American Revolution coming to its rescue; but 
in 1901/ two young men from New York City in the persons 
of Paul Kester, the playwright, and his brother, Vaughn, 
the novelist, visited it, and they were so much impressed 
with this "grandeur in decay" that they purchased it the 
following year and restored it to its former beauty and 
culture. It again threw its doors open to noted personages 
in the literary and theatrical world; and among these 
visitors was Julia Marlowe, who spent her off-stage hours 
here during her engagement at Washington; and her little 
dog "Taffy" was a guest of honor at Woodlawn for several 
weeks during the winter of 1902. 

After a few years, the Kesters sold it to Miss Sharpe, 
of Philadelphia, and while it retains its old-time beauty, it 
wears the air of utter loneliness and seclusion, as it is in 
the hands of care-takers the greater part of the time, and 
the "no trespass" sign by the roadside, doubtless, pre- 
cludes the pleasure of a visit for many a tourist. But the 
name of Nellie Custis will ever hang a mantle of sacredness 



Nellie Custis and Woodlawn 57 

about it despite its ownership; and the pilgrim will pause 
and view it from a distance, though he may be forbidden 
to enter its portals. Camp Humphreys, which has now 
been made a permanent camp, is almost beneath its shadow. 

Abingdon — The Birthplace of Nellie Custis 

THOUGH the name of Nellie Custis is so closely en- 
twined about Mount Vernon and Woodlawn, there is 
still another place that stands out in bas relief as 
sacred to her memory, and that is "Abingdon," where she 
first saw the light, which is today pointed out to the tourist, 
as he turns his face toward Mount Vernon over the Wash- 
ington and Electric Railway Line. 

This tract of land belonged to the original grant of 
Robert Howson who sold it to the Alexanders along with 
Arlington, and this house which is so well built, has borne 
the weight of more than two centuries and is still habitable. 

General Washington bought it of Girard Alexander 
for his stepson, John Parke Custis, who founded his home 
here, upon his marriage to Eleanor Calvert of Mount Airy, 
Maryland, and here their three daughters were born. But 
the ravages of war plunged this happy family into the 
depth of mourning when the young master was carried 
away, just at the moment of victory. Some time later, 
however, the young widow was again married to Dr. Stuart 
and continued to live here, where the Stuart sisters, 
who were so far-famed for their grace and beauty, were 
born. Many a young planter worshiped at the "shrine of 
these fair muses," and would have gladly laid his all at 
their feet. 

But General Washington had paid for this estate with 
Continental money, and the heirs of Girard Alexander 
brought suit for its recovery, and after long years of litiga- 
tion, it was returned to them, and Walter Alexander became 
the owner. He soon sold it to a man by the name of 
Wise, who transferred it to Alexander Hunter, who was 
marshal of the District of Columbia for a score of years, 
and who spent much in beautifying the old place. 

President Andrew Jackson was a close friend of Gen- 
eral Hunter, and many a Saturday he stole away to Abing- 



58 Nellie Custis and Woodlawn 

don for an over-Sunday rest : for this was a sort of Liberty 
hall, where politics and office-seeking were tabooed during 
the Presidential visits. One chamber on the northeast side 
was always known as General Washington's, as it was his 
custom to occupy it upon his visits to his stepson. General 
Hunter, in defense of the non-pretentiousness of the place, 
used to say that a house that was good enough for Wash- 
ington was good enough for him. 

He willed Abingdon to his nephew, Major Alexander 
Hunter, who was well-known in the literary world later, 
and who was to come into possession of the estate at his 
majority. But the Civil War came on, and he enlisted in 
the Confederate cause, and, like Arlington, it was sold for 
taxes during his absence. L. E. Crittendon, then employed 
in the treasury, bought it, but after the war, Major Alex- 
ander Hunter brought suit for the recovery of this property, 
and won in the supreme court. General Garfield was his 
lawyer, and for his fee he accepted forty acres of the estate, 
and was planning for the erection of a handsome country 
residence here when the hand of an assassin laid him low 
and turned the historic place into "sackcloth and ashes." 

It seems that an improvement company was interested 
in this part of the estate, along with Mr. Garfield, and that 
this company and the Garfield heirs still hold title to it. 
But this did not include the old mansion, which has long 
been owned by the New Washington Brick Manufacturing 
Company ; and Abingdon is now the home of the president 
of this company. It is in a good state of preservation, and 
is near a half mile from the electric car line, three or four 
miles out of Washington. 








1313 m 



By Courtesy of Washington-Virginia Railway Co. 

Abingdon, as It Looks To-day 




Where Nellie Custis Sleeps— 
the Shaft to the Right Marks 
Her Grave." 



3n tltia little rornrr 3 plant 
a sweet iFornet-iKe-Not 

to tii? fUemoru, of 
QJIte Nation's lUeroir Seao. 




Carlock, Washington, D. C. 

Fort Myer Gateway 



"fonr silent tents of green 
He oerk uiittj fragrant flowers; 

fours ttas tire sutfertng been 
Site wemortj sliall be ours/' 



Arlington National Cemetery 

ARLINGTON is ever second only to Mount Vernon, and 
now with its additional sections filled with the pre- 
L cious dust of our overseas dead, it has a new sig- 
nificance ; and there is no other one spot under heaven that 
claims the attention of more hearts, and it seems a most 
fitting time to enshrine it anew in our history. 

This beautiful "City of the Dead," overlooking the 
placid waters of the Potomac and the Nation's Capitol 
from its ideal heights on the Virginia hills, is the largest 
cemetery of its kind of modern times. Here all heroes of 
all ranks and of all wars, from the Revolution to the great 
World War, share, alike, in this embracing mold, so close 
to the heart of the great country they gave their life-blood 
to preserve. 

Nature seems to have especially favored this place for 
this sacred purpose, and what she in her generosity over- 
looked, the landscape gardener, with his wonderful, magic 
art has surely supplied: for nothing has been spared to 
make it a veritable Eden for the heroic hosts that slumber 
here. "Overshadowed by the magnificent forest and in 
sunny openings," the long line of white headstones tell 
their sad story of willing sacrifice, of broken hearts, and 
of fondly crushed hopes. Imposing mausoleums and costly 
monuments rise above the graves of distinguished officers 
or more favored sons than the unknown, but all share the 
same restful repose under the sound of the bugle call of 
Fort Myer. And as one reflects upon the solemn scene, 
the full significance of Gray's beautiful lines comes to 
mind: 

"The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, 

And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave; 

Await, alike, the inevitable hour, 

The paths of glory lead but to the grave." 

The grounds are enclosed by a substantial stone wall 
with handsome memorial gateway entrances on the different 

63 



64 Arlington National Cemetery 

sides, and a paved driveway leads to the mansion and to 
other parts of the cemetery. A profusion of ornamental 
trees and shrubs have been placed among the primitive 
oaks ; and velvety lawns beautified with beds of flowers 
crown the crest of the hill, and invite the visitor to linger 
among their fragrance. The Temple of Fame is surrounded 
by a picturesque garden of flowers arranged in unique de- 
signs, some of which spell the word "Unknown," others the 
names of officers, etc. 

The great amphitheater, which was dedicated in May, 
1920, has left the simpler, rustic one of former years to 
be treasured for its associations ; but for historic interest 
nothing surpasses "Arlington House," or the Custis-Lee 
mansion as it is generally known today. 

From its commanding position on the brow of the hill, 
which stretches away in slope a half-mile to the river two 
hundred feet below, it presents one of the most magnificent 
views that the eye can behold. Standing between these 
great Doric columns, which so distinctly set its architec- 
ture apart as Grecian, Lafayette pronounced it one of the 
grandest views that he had ever looked upon ; and what 
must he think could he drink in this panorama today in all 
its modern improvement and beauty ! Surely there is noth- 
ing fairer this side the pearly gates. 

The house is built of cement to resemble stone, and a 
coat of paint and new hardwood floors have greatly im- 
proved it within the past year. Aside from its wonderful 
columns, it presents a rather humble appearance within, and 
but few remnants of its halcyon days now remain. The bare 
floors seem to protest against intrusion, as they send back 
their echoes of precious memories of the long ago. 

The register has been abandoned, and in its stead is 
a complete record of the Spanish-American war soldiers 
placed here by the Colonial Dames. In the hallway are two 
large tablets, one containing the history of the Arlington 
estate, and the other that of the cemetery. The room where 
Robert E. Lee claimed his bride is now marked "private," 
and the old well, which has quenched the thirst of so many 
generations, is transformed into a modern drinking fountain. 



Arlington National Cemetery 65 

Upon the terrace in front of the mansion, near the 
flagstaff, where "Old Glory" proudly plays the part of 
sentinel from reveille to retreat, rest General Philip Sheri- 
dan and Admiral Porter, the two most distinguished com- 
manders that slumber here. Sheridan's monument is one 
of the most artistic in the ground; the granite and bronze 
being adorned by a medallion portrait, with flag and wreath. 
To the right of the flag is the unique sarcophagus of Pierie 
Charles L'Enfant, the man who laid out the city of Wash- 
ington. The tomb of General Miles is in another part of 
the cemetery, overlooking the city and the river at a vantage 
point ; the anchor of the Maine, and the white granite monu- 
ment bearing the names of the ill-fated heroes ; the Memor- 
ial Amphitheater; the new memorial to the late Admiral 
Robert E. Peary, etc., are all points of special interest; but 
nothing surpasses the great "Field of the Dead," with its 
plateau of endless lines of uniform headstones, and the 
newly-made grave of the "Unknown," which adds a page 
that is yet unsurpassed in the world's history for military 
honor and significance. 

The Unknown Hero 

Selected from the burying-grounds of France without 
the slightest clue to his identity, typical of all our dead 
of the great battlefields, and transported across the water 
to the homeland on the historic "Olympia," this unknown 
American soldier received the highest honor that has ever 
yet been paid to mortal remains. Every rank and avenue 
of life was represented in the veritable stream of humanity 
that paid tribute from the moment the flag-covered casket 
was borne from the ship until the requiem taps were sounded 
as the last rites at the grave on Armistice Day, November 
11, 1921. 

Floral offerings of the rarest hue from every state 
in the Union — from almost every country under the sun; 
from churches, lodges, patriotic organizations, societies, 
etc., from the King of Great Britain to the one that bore the 
simple language "Old Pal," intermingled their fragrance 
in the greatest display of flowers in the world's annals, 
about the casket of this "Unknown," as it rested upon the 



66 Arlington National Cemetery 

catafalque that had upheld the remains of our martyred 
Presidents, under the great dome of the Capitol. But the 
final service on Armistice Day reached the climax, and must 
ever live in the memory of those who witnessed the impres- 
sive spectacle. 

The Amphitheater had been transformed into a veri- 
table bower with garlands entirely encircling the top, and 
the great embankments of the hero's tributes everywhere 
in evidence. The casket rested upon a catafalque that had 
been improvised for the occasion; and grouped about the 
platform were some of the greatest military heroes and 
statesmen of the age — not only of this, but other lands. 
General Foch and Premier Briand, of France, were there; 
Mr. Arthur J. Balfour and General Beatty, of England ; 
General Jacques, of Belgium ; General Diaz, of Italy ; former 
Presidents William H. Taft and Woodrow Wilson, and Gen- 
eral Pershing, of our own country ; and President Warren 
G. Harding's memorial eloquence, and the other impressive 
services, were wafted from ocean to ocean by the means 
of amplifiers, as the first event of its kind in all history. 

Promptly at twelve o'clock, as the bugle sounded atten- 
tion, came the lull of two minutes when a nation bowed 
its head in silent prayer, and an unprecedented hush and 
awe, such as had never before been experienced, spread its 
wings over an entire land. Then the solemnity of the mo- 
ment when the President of this great country concluded 
his address by repeating the Lord's Prayer in unison with 
the people — more voices than had ever before been thus 
united, — as the first instance of its kind on record. This 
was followed by the singing of the "Supreme Sacrifice," by 
a quartet. 

Then gold and jeweled emblems for the brave from the 
highest officers of other lands were laid upon the breast of 
the silent sleeper, after our own President had placed the 
Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Service Cross upon 
the casket. The Victoria Cross, never before bestowed 
upon anyone, who had not served under the British flag; 
the highest honors of France, Belgium, Italy, etc., were 
laid there. General Jacques of Belgium tore the medal 




Abel & Co., Washington, D. C. 

New Amphitheater From the Air 
Old Amphitheater 



68 



Arlington National Cemetery 



of valor from his own tunic that he might lay it upon the 
casket. The British and American mothers brought their 
tear-bedewed floral offerings ; and Chief Plenty Coups, in 
behalf of the dusky-face, called down the blessing of the 
Great Spirit of the Red man, as he laid the coup stick of 
his tribal office and the feathered bonnet from his own 
head beside the other honors. 

The tomb which was made in front of the Amphitheater, 
was not sealed until Monday, and thousands who had been 
disappointed by the traffic jam on Armistice Day, paid 
homage on Sunday. 




Tomb of Unknown 



As the casket was borne from the battleship to the 
Rotunda amidst military honors and the strains of "On- 
ward Christian Soldiers," from the mounted band, Na- 
ture's tears were falling copiously as if she too, were in 
sympathy; but as it was carried from the Capitol to its 
final resting-place, she broke forth into a sunny smile, as 
if in approval of the symbol of the unprecedented occa- 
sion, which brought together peace advocates from the 
very ends of the earth. 

Most of the tributes were perishable, but the one of 
white marble and gold sent by France must serve as an 
emblem of her enduring friendship. In the upper left 



Arlington National Cemetery 69 

hand corner of this handsomest of designs were the words, 
"Homage de La France" in gold. Beneath them was a 
spray of American Beauty roses in the same gold; at the 
lower left hand corner were other words in French, and 
at the bottom were the significant ones "Versailles 1783- 
1918," — dates, which let us hope, cement the friendship of 
these two liberty-loving republics for all time. 

This tomb of the "Unknown" is a new shrine for pil- 
grimages. The Continental Congress of the Daughters 
of the American Revolution, three thousand strong, bowed 
here on April 18, 1922, and with eulogy, prayer and song, 
laid their floral tributes down, and renewed their covenant 
in honor of those who rest in "Flanders' field" for a re- 
doubled effort for "Peace on earth, goodwill to men." 

History of Arlington Estate 

WITH all hearts centered about this National City of 
the Dead, its early history naturally becomes of 
more moment to us ; so let us turn our eyes back- 
ward to its primitive days, with its successive titles of 
ownership to the time it became the resting-place of our 
patriotic dead. 

On October 21, 1669, his majesty King Charles II of 
England, through Sir William Berkeley, the governor of 
the Virginia colony, "by the grace of God and the discovery 
of John Cabot," granted this large tract, including what is 
now the Arlington estate, to one Robert Howson, as a 
recompense for the many settlers he brought to the colony. 
Howson, evidently prizing it little, sold it that same year 
to John Alexander for six hogsheads of tobacco; and it 
remained in the Alexander family until Christmas 1778, 
when Gerard Alexander and his wife transferred it by deed 
to John Parke Custis for the sum of one thousand one hun- 
dred pounds Virginia currency; there being one thousand 
one hundred acres in the tract. 

Mr. Custis died intestate leaving four children, and in 
accord with the old English primogenitive law, which gave 
the sole right of inheritance of real estate to the eldest 
son, his only son, George Washington Parke Custis, in- 
herited Arlington, which took its name from the old Custis 



70 Arlington National Cemetery 

homestead on the eastern coast of Virginia. This home 
having been named in honor of Henry, Earl of Arlington, 
to whom, with Lord Culpeper, Charles II had made a 
grant of the whole of Virginia in 1673. 

John Parke Custis 

JOHN PARKE CUSTIS, son of Martha Custis Washing- 
ton, who was familiarly known as "Jackey," was a wild 
and wayward youth, with more love for the fox-chase 
and similar sports than for his studies, and this gave his 
mother and Mr. Washington much concern. At the age of 
eighteen, he entered King's (now Columbia) college, but 
the charm of Miss Eleanor Calvert, second daughter of 
Benedict Calvert, proved too alluring, and a few months 
later, on February 3, 1774, he claimed this beautiful, vi- 
vacious lassie of sixteen summers, as his bride. The nup- 
tials took place in the parlor of the Mount Airy Mansion, and 
they founded their home at Abingdon between Alexandria 
and Washington, where three of their four children were 
born. He served as aide-de-camp on the staff of General 
Washington at Yorktown and died of camp fever at the 
home of Colonel Bassett, at Eltham, Maryland, on Novem- 
ber 5, 1781 ; Mrs. Bassett being a sister of his mother. 

The fatal fever was upon him at the time of the fall 
of Yorktown, and he felt that he could die content, if he 
could but behold the surrender of the sword of Lord Corn- 
wallis. This wish was gratified. He was supported to 
the ground where he witnessed the spectacle, and was then 
removed to the home of his aunt, as above stated, where his 
few remaining clays were spent. When there was no 
longer room for hope, General Washington was summoned, 
and, attended by a single officer and a groom, he left head- 
quarters at midnight, and rode with all possible speed to 
Eltham, arriving just in time to see the departing scene. 
Turning to the weeping widow and mother, he said, "From 
this moment I adopt the two youngest children as my own." 
Then grief-stricken, he waved adieu, and with fresh horses 
returned to the camp without rest or refreshments. "It 
was a melancholy hour," coming as it did to shadow the 
great triumph, while the camps were still resounding with 




Carlock, Washington, D. C. 

Front and Rear Views of Arlington Mansion, With Portraits of 
George Washington Parke Custis and General and Mrs. Lee 



72 Arlington National Cemetery 

the shouts of victory, but the hand of Destiny must have 
ruled that hour. 

Two years passed by, and Eleanor Calvert Parke Custis 
was again married to Dr. David Stuart, and a large fam- 
ily of children was born of this union. She died on Sep- 
tember 28, 1811, and rests in the little church at St. 
Thomas beside her father. She was the last one to be laid 
here. The vestry had forbidden such burials, but her re- 
mains were carried into the chapel at night. In digging 
the grave, after taking up the floor, the gold plate on the 
casket of her father was disclosed. John Parke Custis 
also rests in the Calvert burying-ground. 

A beautiful portrait of Eleanor Calvert Custis in riding 
habit, which perpetuates her girlish charm, and which once 
adorned the old mansion at Mount Airy, is still in existence. 

The children of John Parke Custis were: Elizabeth, 
who became Mrs. Thomas Law, and Martha, who mar- 
ried Thomas Peter, both of Washington; and Nellie and 
George Washington Parke Custis, the children of Mount 
Vernon. 

Arlington Mansion Built 

GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS remained 
at Mount Vernon until after the death of his 
grandmother in 1802. He had now reached his 
majority, and with his inheritance from his father and 
from General Washington, was one of the wealthiest young 
men in Virginia. But owing to its ideal location and its 
proximity to the newly established capitol of the nation, 
his fancy naturally turned to Arlington in selecting his 
future home. 

The only house on the estate at this time was the old one 
occupied by the Alexanders, which stood near the river a 
mile east of the present mansion, and which was built near 
1725. Here the young master of Arlington lived until his 
"castle" was completed in 1803 or 1804. 

Young Lochinvar had not yet deserted single life, but 
when all was in readiness, he prevailed upon Miss Mary 
Lee Fitzhugh, who was then but a lassie of sixteen sum- 
mers, to share his fortune and his happiness; and she, 



Arlington National Cemetery 73 

a descendant of the Randolphs of Virginia, presided over 
his home with the grace and dignity that such surround- 
ings demanded: for it in some measure took the place of 
Mount Vernon in opening its hospitable doors to the great 
of earth. Many who had frequented that shrine during 
the boyhood of Mr. Custis now sat at his festal board. 
Among them being General Lafayette, who had invoked his 
blessing upon him as a barefoot boy. 

Many were the treasures Mr. Custis brought here, from 
Mount Vernon; among them being the bed upon which 
his beloved Pater spent his last hours ; and the Marquee 
sleeping-tent, which served the General throughout the 
Revolution, from the time it was pitched at Cambridge 
in 1775, until the triumph at Yorktown in October 1781, 
which was the dearest of all to his heart. This silent 
weather-beaten remnant of liberty seemed to have a lan- 
guage all its own. It had witnessed the greatest events of 
the struggle. Under its protecting canopy, the great Gen- 
eral, had, doubtless, many times poured out his innermost 
soul in prayer to the omnipotent Author of all victory ; and 
o'er and o'er again shed the silent tear over the destitute 
patriots. Cornwallis had not only been a guest, but a 
prisoner, under it, and the sight of it called forth many 
other tender associations and memories. Mr. Custis used 
it at times as a special honor to his guests, and it was more 
than once the medium for some worthy cause; as people 
would pay liberally for the privilege of sitting under it. 
Two churches are said to have been built from funds thus 
secured. On October 12, 1824, during the last visit of La- 
fayette to this country, it was spread in his honor under 
the Rotunda of the Capitol. It is now resting with its 
poles and pegs in a glass case in the National Museum; 
and the very sight of it today brings an irresistible feel- 
ing of awe and reverence, and tends to deepen our sense 
of gratitude for the liberty, we so much enjoy, which was 
bought at such a price. Among the reminiscences that 
Mr. Custis treasured to life's last hour was his visit to Wash- 
ington's tomb with Lafayette, which is recorded in the 
Mount Vernon chapter. 

Mr. Custis was a man of many talents, aside from his 



74 Arlington National Cemetery 

literary aspirations, but he did not fulfill the hope of Gen- 
eral Washington that he might "shine in the councils of the 
nation as a statesman," but preferred the life of a gentle- 
man-farmer, with its attendant ease and luxury. With 
the mansion filled with relics of the past, he began his 
career at Arlington by purchasing a flock of imported Me- 
rino sheep in 1803, and instituting an annual convention 
here for the benefit of those interested in sheep" husbandry. 
This was known as "Arlington Sheep-Shearing Day," and 
commemorated his natal day, April 30, each succeeding 
year. Through his generosity, Arlington Springs became 
a summer resort, and he thoughtfully added a kitchen, 
dining-room, dancing pavilion, and boat-wharf for pleasure 
seekers, — making just one stipulation, that no intoxicating 
liquors be bought or sold, for he did not forget the high 
principles that had been instilled in him at Mount Vernon. 
Mrs. Custis passed from sight in 1853, and he joined 
her on the other side, four years later. Both rest within 
an iron enclosure just beyond the shadow of the old man- 
sion, under the protecting branches of three large oaks. 
Their graves are marked by simple shafts, which are thus 
inscribed : 

"Mary Custis, born April 22, 1788, and died April 23, 1853." 
"Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God," which is 

sufficient tribute within itself. 

"George Washington Parke Custis, born April 30, 1781, and died 

October 10, 1857." 

"Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy." 

(He was born at Mount Airy, the home of the Calverts, 
while his father was serving in the Revolution.) 

Mr. Custis left his entire estate to his only child who 
survived infancy, with the exception of fifteen and one-half 
acres, which he set apart for a faithful servant. This 
daughter, Mary Randolph, became the wife of Robert E. Lee, 
and at her death, the estate descended to her eldest son, 
George Washington Custis Lee, by the provision of her 
father's will. 



Arlington National Cemetery 



75 




Carlock, Washington, D. C. 

The Graves of the Custises at Arlington 



The Lees at Arlington 



THE name of Robert E. Lee will ever hang about this 
old mansion for he spent thirty years of his event- 
ful life here. Even before he went to West Point, 
he was a frequent visitor at Arlington, where he was at- 
tracted by the grace and beauty of the young heiress, Mary 
Randolph Custis. 

The marriage took place here in the drawing-room, the 
first at the right of the front entrance, on the evening of 
June 30, 1831, in the presence of a gay and happy throng. 
Six lieutenants of the United States army acted as grooms- 
men, and a like number of charming young ladies, as 
bridesmaids, forming a circle about them. The Reverend 
Mr. Meade, later bishop of the Episcopal church, read the 
nuptial service. The bridegroom was not wealthy, but he 
was young, handsome, and an officer in the army with bright 
promise before him. He later served with distinction in 
the Mexican war, and was appointed superintendent of 



76 Arlington National Cemetery 

the academy at West Point in 1852; and other honors 
came thick and fast. But when the Civil War came on 
and he was called upon to decide for or against his be- 
loved state, he, after a hard struggle, resigned his com- 
mission in the "gallant little army that he had helped 
to make and adorn from Vera Cruz to Mexico City," and 
cast his lot with the Confederacy. 

On April 20, 1861, after a painful interview with Gen- 
eral Scott, he penned the fateful letter and passed through 
the gates of Arlington never to return: for the future des- 
tiny of this grand old estate truly hung upon the thread of 
that signature. The same day that they bade farewell 
to this old mansion and went to Richmond to live, he was 
appointed as commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces. In 
a very brief time, the estate was confiscated by the gov- 
ernment and the old mansion became headquarters for the 
Union army, — the center of a vast military camp. After 
the first bloody disaster at Bull Run, Major George B. Mc- 
Clellan reorganized, drilled, and disciplined the Army of 
the Potomac here, and to the close of the war, the estate 
was in constant use for military purposes. Many of the 
treasures, given to Mr. Custis by his grandmother, which 
adorned the mansion when taken by the Federal troops, 
were removed to different places, but were restored to the 
descendants after the war; and many of them have been 
returned to Mount Vernon — among them the bed upon 
which Washington died, and the firedogs presented by 
Lafayette. 

The Lee family consisted of the following named chil- 
dren: George Washington Custis, Mary, William H. Fitz- 
hugh, Annie, who died in '62, Agnes, Robert, and Mildred 
Lee. 

The Letter that Sealed the Destiny of Arlington 

Arlington, Va., April 20, 1861. 
"General : 

"Since my interview with you on the 18th instant, I have 
felt that I ought no longer to retain my commission in the 
army. I therefore tender my resignation, which I request 
you will recommend for acceptance. It would have been 








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Arlington Mansion Hall of Fame 

Officers' Section Sheridan Monument 

Nurses of Spanish-American War General Crook's Monument 

Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument Anchor of Maine 



78 Arlington National Cemetery 

presented at once, but for the struggle it has cost me to 
separate myself from a service to which I have devoted the 
best years of my life and all the ability I possessed. Dur- 
ing the whole of that time — more than a quarter of a cen- 
tury — I have experienced nothing but kindness from my 
superiors and a most cordial friendship from my comrades. 
To no one, General, have I been as much indebted as to 
yourself for uniform kindness and consideration; and it 
has always been my ardent desire to merit your approba- 
tion. I shall carry to the grave the most grateful recol- 
lections of your kind consideration, and your name and 
fame will always be dear to me. 

"Save in the defense of my native state, I never desire 
again to draw my sword. Be pleased to accept my most 
earnest wishes for the continuance of your happiness and 
prosperity, and believe me, 

"Most truly yours, 

R. E. Lee." 
Lieut.-Gen. Winfield Scott, 

Commanding United States Army. 

The Cemetery Laid Out 

ON May 13, 1864, while casting about for a place to 
bury the large toll of Union soldiers, Quarter- 
master-General M. C. Meigs, of the United States 
army, in company with President Lincoln, laid out this 
cemetery in order to relieve the one at the Soldiers' Home, 
which was so overcrowded, and take care of the waiting 
dead. On this day the first graves were made, and a Con- 
federate soldier, who died in prison, is said to have been 
the first one lowered to the bosom of mother earth in this 
quiet, restful place, which is today so far-famed for its 
countless dead. 

On May 30, 1868, Memorial Day was instituted by an 
order issued by General John A. Logan, the commander- 
in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic ; and the first 
ceremony was held at the Arlington mansion in the after- 
noon of that day. Generals Grant and Hancock with their 
staffs, and other military notables were present. General 
James A. Garfield, then member of Congress from Ohio, was 





The Blue and the Grey — Confederate Monument, Section of 
Union Soldiers and Officers 



80 Arlington National Cemetery 

the orator of the hour; and from this beginning has grown 
the beautiful annual custom of strewing the graves of 
our heroes with flowers, which now reaches round the 
globe, and brings to Arlington its countless thousands to 
pay homage each succeeding year. 

Mrs. Lee passed from earth in 1873, at Richmond. Then 
came the litigation between the heirs and the represent- 
atives of the government, who were in possession of this 
spot, and who based their plea upon "forfeiture for taxes." 
But the title relied upon was a certificate of sale to the 
United States for the collection of taxes ; but this certifi- 
cate was impeached on the ground of the refusal of the 
commissioner to permit the owner to pay the taxes on or 
before the day of sale other than in person. The heirs 
lost in the circuit court, but won in the court of appeals ; 
and George Washington Custis Lee, as above stated, accord- 
ing to his grandfather's will became the owner. But dear 
as the estate may have seemed to him, he found himself 
confronted by a vast burying-ground, as thousands of sol- 
diers now rested here, and his only hope was to accept the 
terms of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars offered 
him or continue the fight against his "native land" in the 
courts, and he chose the former. March 31, 1883, marked 
the surrender of the home of his forefathers to the count- 
less tenants of the tomb. 

Two hundred acres were originally enclosed for the ceme- 
tery, but it is much larger now. In 1872, the Secretary of 
War declared all that part of the estate without the gate 
to be the military reservation of Fort Whipple, — now Fort 
Myer, and the settlers were paid for the removal of their 
homes, and for the loss of their crops. 

Thus history blends the present with the past in one 
great panorama of human interest about one of the most 
beautiful and sacred spots in the annals of America. 

Note: — An effort to restore this mansion to what it was 
when the Lees left it is on foot, but with the precious 
treasures of those days so widely scattered it will doubt- 
less be many years before its accomplishment. 



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Section of Overseas Dead Where Some West Virginia Boys Sleep 



82 Arlington National Cemetery 

The Custis Ancestry 

THE Custises emigrated from Rotterdam, Holland, 
in 1640, and settled on the eastern shore of Vir- 
ginia. This emigrant had a son, John, who was a 
major-general in Bacon's rebellion. He, through his wife, 
came into a valuable estate in Northampton county, which 
he named Arlington in honor of Henry, Earl of Arlington. 
General Custis' only son, John, was a member of the 
King's council in Virginia in 1704, and he also left a son, 
John, — a name which we see was a family heritage to 
each generation. 

This son, which we shall designate as John, the IV, was 
educated in England, and he married, Frances, the proud 
daughter of Colonel Daniel Parke, a native of Virginia, 
and lived to regret his choice. Some of his letters which 
are left on record, suggest that he was a most ardent 
wooer, as he repeatedly assured this "angel of his affec- 
tions" that he could not possibly brook life without her. 
He had been warned of her temper and self-will, but felt 
confident that to "possess her would be heaven enough for 
him." But unfortunately the heavenly dream was not 
realized, and when she fell into an early grave, he seemed 
to prize his freedom from the entangling alliance so much 
that when he died he left to perpetuate his memory in 
epitaph the following lines: 

"Under this marble tomb lies the body 

of the Hon. John Custis, Esq., 

of the city of Williamsburg, 

and parish of Burton. 

Formerly of Hungar's Parish, on the Eastern Shore 

of Virginia, and County of Northampton. 

Aged 71 years, and yet lived but seven years, which was 

the space of time he kept Bachelor's home at Arlington 

on the Eastern Shore of Virginia." 

His son was compelled under penalty of disinheritance to 
execute this inscription on the tomb, but he apologizes on 
the opposite side, by stating that it was done by positive 
orders of his father. 



Arlington National Cemetery 



83 



The historians of the past insist that the chief claim 
of Daniel Parke Custis to fame was his marriage to the 
beautiful Miss Dandridge, the future Mrs. Washington, 
who was the eldest daughter of Colonel John Dandridge 
and one of the reigning belles of her day. He was an ex- 
tensive tobacco planter, and when he died in 1757, he left 
an estate valued at more than one hundred thousand dollars. 

Mr. Custis was noted for his high sense of honor, and 
as he neared the "Mystic river" he sent for a tenant to 
whom in settling an account he still owed a shilling. The 
tenant assured him that it did not matter, that he had for- 
gotten it, but "I had not," was the reply, as he bade him 
take the coin. Then he said, "Now my accounts are closed 
with the world," and shortly after passed from these 
earthly scenes, little dreaming of the manner in which his 
name was to be perpetuated and honored. 




Tomb of General Meigs, Who Laid Out Cemetery 



1 73 










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